Masrour Barzani: We must not yield to the pressure exerted on us to prevent the education sector from continuing

ARK News… The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, opened the mixed middle school in the Korean Village in Erbil, coinciding with the ringing of the bell for the beginning of the 2023-2024 academic year.

During his speech, Masrour Barzani expressed his happiness at the opening of this new school, which he described as being built in a “beautiful and modern way.”

He said: I remember two years ago when we came here to inspect the damage caused to the Korean village and its school due to the flood. Then a young man approached me. I thought he would ask for help for his family, but he said he wanted to build a school.

He added: At that time, we asked the private sector to start building this school, and Sheikh Fakhr Sheikh Tayeb took over the task. I want to thank him and Qaiwan Company for providing these schools that they are building for the students of Kurdistan, and I hope that they will increase this work.

Education sector reform:

Masrour Barzani stressed that education reflects the personality and character of our country, so it was necessary to pay more attention to educating the new generation, for the sake of the future of Kurdistan.

He said: Students in our schools do not only learn education, but they receive education and culture, so we want to strengthen education in Kurdistan in the best way, so that our dear children can exploit their talents to serve and develop their country, learn to love their country and protect the beautiful environment of Kurdistan, and realize the painstaking and hard work that he has done. The heroic Peshmerga and all those who worked with sincerity and dedication to build Kurdistan, we must remember them and appreciate their sacrifices.

He added: I know that there are many shortcomings, however, serious efforts have been made to reform the education sector, and very good things have been achieved. We know very well that there are many mistakes, and serious work has been done to correct them, but we were not in a normal situation. Many problems for the Kurdistan people, yet we overcame them.

Appreciating teachers' efforts:

Masrour Barzani considered that the efforts of all teachers who continue to serve the educational process, the education sector and the education of students are “a source of pride, pride and appreciation for us. I am very grateful for the efforts of the teachers who have made and are making their best efforts to educate students and their determination not to disrupt the education sector.”

He said: One of the reasons for the country's progress is that our next generation must be better, have better education, and thanks to that, they can build a better and happier country for us.

He continued: For all of this, we must not yield to the pressures exerted on us from any party, to prevent the education sector from continuing. I am very grateful to the teachers, who I know very well the extent of their financial suffering, but we can overcome all of that. We will do our best to overcome this crisis and this situation. Unnatural.

Visiting Baghdad and solving problems:

During his speech, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government announced his intention to visit the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, to try to resolve the outstanding problems peacefully.

He said: Our long patience does not mean the weakness of the Kurdistan Region, but what matters to us is not to let the problems between us and Baghdad take another turn.

He added: We want to solve our outstanding problems peacefully, and we must guarantee all financial entitlements to the people of Kurdistan and their constitutional rights.

He continued: We would like to visit the political parties and find out the reason for this bad treatment with the people of Kurdistan. When the Kurdistan people embrace and receive all Iraqis, it is assumed and expected that the Iraqi people will now defend the rights of the people of Kurdistan. We want to know why they are adopting a policy of starving the people of Kurdistan.

He added: We believe and realize that the victory of the Kurdistan Region is a victory for all of Iraq, and that the economic prosperity in the region is an economic recovery for all of Iraq.

Masrour Barzani referred to some problems and agreements between Erbil and Baghdad, and said: During our previous visits to Baghdad, we reached many fruitful agreements with Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani, and we believe that these agreements will contribute to achieving greater stability for Iraq and the region.

Masrour Barzani expressed his regret that those agreements with Sudan “were not implemented,” stressing, “We are determined once again to find solutions to these problems, and during my next visit we will do our best to solve the problems peacefully.”

Ministry of Education statistics:

According to the statistics of the Ministry of Education in the Kurdistan Regional Government, the number of students is more than one million and 700 thousand students, both male and female, in various educational levels, including one and a half million students newly registered in the first grade.

The Kurdistan Regional Government's spending on the education sector amounts to about 2 trillion dinars annually.

During the past four years of the ninth formation of the Kurdistan Government, despite the economic crises that the region went through resulting from the pressure exerted by Baghdad not to send the region’s financial dues, the Kurdistan Government continued to pay more attention to the education sector.

Over the course of 4 years, the Kurdistan Government succeeded in building 90 new school buildings and kindergartens, as well as renovating and modernizing 1,500 schools and kindergartens, in addition to building 500 new classrooms, to reduce the problem of triple shifts and crowding within classrooms.

Source: Kurdistan 24

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