ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Action and investment are needed to reduce educational inequality in the Kurdistan Region, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) warned this week.
Although 96 percent of children in the Kurdistan Region attend primary school, just 67 percent go on to receive a lower secondary education, the survey found.
In poorer and more isolated areas of the Region, this rate falls to just 37 percent.
“Economic hardship, insufficient schools in rural areas and lack of transportation are just some of the factors that are keeping children from disadvantaged backgrounds from receiving an education that can transform their lives and that of their communities,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative in Iraq.
“Without urgent and sustained investment in education, children from the most vulnerable backgrounds will be left behind and this will have a negative impact not only on their families, but society and the prosperity of the region,” he warned.
UNICEF called on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to prioritize funding for the Region’s most disadvantaged children impacted by poverty and conflict.
It did however commend recent improvements in access to basic drinking water and sanitation in the Region.
“Despite economic challenges of the last couple of years, the data highlights the progress made by the Kurdistan Regional Government in improving access to basic services, including health services and access to safe drinking water,” said Dr Ali Sindi, the KRG’s Minister of Planning.
“This survey will further assist the government and its partners to identify and prioritize areas where additional investments are needed,” he added.
The picture is less encouraging in federal Iraq, which has seen public infrastructure decimated in the war with ISIS. The conflict and mass displacement have severely disrupted children’s education.
Although 92 percent of Iraq’s children are enrolled in primary school, only around half of those from poorer backgrounds complete primary education, the survey shows. Less than a quarter complete secondary school.
Anbar and Nineveh – two provinces which bore the brunt of the war with ISIS – have particularly low enrollment and attendance rates, as do poorer provinces in the country’s south.
Damage to school buildings and a shortage of teachers causes further disruption.
“The data is the clearest indication yet that the most vulnerable children in Iraq are the ones that are most likely to fall behind,” said Hawkins.
“The hard-won gains to end the conflict in Iraq and transition to a stable future could be lost without additional investments for all children to reach their full potential.”
The Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) surveyed 20,520 households across the country over the course of 2018 in collaboration with UNICEF. The findings of the sixth Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) were published in November.
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