| 2008: $5 billion to build four thousand schools and health projects in Iraq |
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May 5, 2008 Iraq’s Minister of Education, Dr. Khudair Alkhozai, announced the appointment of 20 thousand teachers during the second half of this year within the cadres of Directorates of Education in Baghdad and other governorates. He also announced of a comprehensive national project to build four thousand modern schools throughout the country, in addition to service and health projects implemented over the next three years costing $5 billion. Alkhozai described those projects as ambitious and would cover the needs of the Ministries of Education and Health as well as providing jobs for the unemployed. As for the appointment of teachers during next June after the approval of the Finance Ministry, he said that the Ministry of Education was the first ministry absorbing tens of thousands of employees through the past few years, and contributed greatly to reduce unemployment by hiring the largest possible number of graduates from colleges and institutes. He indicated that the proportion of appointing evening studies graduates will be increased in future because they have not got sufficient opportunities during the previous appointments, without clarifying how much the increase will be. On the other hand, the Minister expressed his agreement to printing the educational curricula in Iraqi presses according to conditions of preferential price-fixing and the best specifications, and denied that the ministry had contracted with any other country in this regard. And on the ministry’s preparations for the final exams, particularly “the ministerial exams,” Alkhozai said that the ministry has taken measures in cooperation and coordination with Baghdad operations in the capital, the bodies of the Ministries of Defense and Interior departments to ensure protection of the examination centers and tighten security procedures to reduce violations which occurred in previous years. As for the education reality in Al-Sadr City, the impact of the closure of schools and education stoppage by military operations in this city, Alkhozai explained that the ministry instructed the use of public holidays to intensify the study and compensate students for the time lost and complete the curriculum as other schools, in return for wages of teaching according to the extra hours. He disclosed that this year will witness the building of 200 schools in a prefabricated building within the investment budget for 2008, including 100 in Baghdad and likewise in other provinces. The Minister stressed that the public examinations “baccalaureate” will cover both the middle and junior high under students, excluding the outside students whom he said that those who failed in their preliminary exams can do the final examinations, pointing out that this step comes as a consideration for their circumstances, in addition to allowing students from the sixth primary who failed in three materials to perform the final examinations as well. Source: www.projectsmiddleeast.com |