Sixty per cent of Iraq’s population today is under the age of 25[1]and the country is under pressure to provide educational opportunities for this ever growing number of young people, who are looking to build their lives despite persisting difficulties following the years of wars and sanctions.
An enthusiasm for education has been observed across the country[2]and consequential advancements have been achieved in the last years, with the elementary school enrolments increasing at about 4.1% per year and the total enrolment in primary education almost doubling from 3.6 million in 2000 to six million in 2012, but the challenges remain considerable. As of 2013, 13.5 per cent or 1.2 million of Iraqi school-aged children have not had access to basic education and for those in school, great repetition and dropout rates are a sad reality.[3]The rising number of pupils in conjunction with the recent financial crisis in Iraq are likely to lead to a further deterioration of schooling in Iraq if solutions are not found in due course.
