Kurdistan
Students take their final exam on June 7, 2020. Erbil, Kurdistan Region. Photo: Bilind T. Abdullah/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region’s minister of higher education on Monday called for a dramatic overhaul of the education system, saying it does not “meet our present-day needs.”
The Region’s public education system largely focuses on theory and doesn’t promote creative thinking and learning, Aram Mohammed, minister of higher education and scientific research, told Rudaw’s Shaho Amin.
“This system needs to change,” he said, lambasting the traditional model for not taking into account the diverse learning needs of students and focusing too much on grade-based assessments. “This system neglects learning, innovation, and all the potential that students have."
The minister claimed the current education students are receiving in Kurdistan means graduates do not meet market needs, driving employers to look out of the Region to fill jobs. He called for a study to research the issue.
Mohammed added that public universities are a “burden” on the government, calling for their economic independence and delinking from political parties, but not privatization.
“They are a burden in regards that annually $600 million are spent on universities … We can give this $600 million to students as student loans through making the universities independent,” he said.
“If we want to reform the education field, if we want our country to have an important and effective center of academy, we need these changes,” the minister said.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani urged sweeping reforms to the education system at a conference put on by the American University of Kurdistan (AUK) in Duhok on Sunday.
The Region’s public education system largely focuses on theory and doesn’t promote creative thinking and learning, Aram Mohammed, minister of higher education and scientific research, told Rudaw’s Shaho Amin.
“This system needs to change,” he said, lambasting the traditional model for not taking into account the diverse learning needs of students and focusing too much on grade-based assessments. “This system neglects learning, innovation, and all the potential that students have."
The minister claimed the current education students are receiving in Kurdistan means graduates do not meet market needs, driving employers to look out of the Region to fill jobs. He called for a study to research the issue.
Mohammed added that public universities are a “burden” on the government, calling for their economic independence and delinking from political parties, but not privatization.
“They are a burden in regards that annually $600 million are spent on universities … We can give this $600 million to students as student loans through making the universities independent,” he said.
“If we want to reform the education field, if we want our country to have an important and effective center of academy, we need these changes,” the minister said.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani urged sweeping reforms to the education system at a conference put on by the American University of Kurdistan (AUK) in Duhok on Sunday.
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