Ministry of Education: 92,000 Children Reinstated, 150,000 Dropouts Targeted by 2027

The Ministry of Education announced the reinstatement of 92,843 children into schools since the launch of its "Back to Education" campaign in 2024. The new phase of the campaign aims to reintegrate over 150,000 dropouts by the academic year 2026-2027. The Ministry clarified that this reintegration effort was carried out in cooperation with UNICEF. Education Minister Abdul Karim Abtaan Al-Jubouri directed the development and expansion of the campaign's mechanisms during a national program workshop held in Sulaymaniyah, which involved experts and directors-general of education and received direct attention from the Prime Minister. The Ministry adopts an evidence-based monitoring approach to diagnose dropout cases and their causes, aiming to reduce them and reintegrate children into appropriate educational pathways. It also launched a central electronic platform to register data of dropouts and those who returned, categorized by governorates, ages, and academic stages, to monitor their return. The platform includes data on dropout causes and major educational obstacles, while the workshop discussed challenges and ways to unify partners' efforts to continue the campaign.