At the IBBC Autumn Conference in Basrah (3 December 2025), Education Day – Session 1: Schools, chaired by Professor Mohammed Al-Uzri, brought together panellists Mr Mahdi Saleh, Raed Mahmoud, Dr Abdullah Kurudirek, Joanne Ball, Mr Ammar Tariq to outline what Iraq’s school system needs—and the reforms now underway—to meet national development and labour-market demands, such as those highlighted below:

• Capacity must expand for 14 million learners, supported by a 10-year strategy focused on early childhood, foundational learning and training for 36,000 principals and 8,000 supervisors.
• School environments require renewal, with overcrowding and multi-shift facilities still common; long-term programmes aim to rebuild thousands of schools and strengthen early-years provision.
• Labour-market alignment is essential; updated laws, industrial advisory councils and graduate-tracking units are being introduced to link education pathways with employer needs.
• High-quality university pathways are growing, as private and international schools now serve tens of thousands of students—including networks of 10,000+ learners—with strong outcomes such as 40% of Cambridge-track graduates entering medical schools.
• Admissions clarity is improving through recognition of SAT, AP, A-level, IGCSE and IB exams for entry into Iraqi public and private universities.
• Inclusion and early childhood must scale, with 450,000 children with disabilities still out of school; integrated education models and early-grade literacy pilots are beginning to close these gaps.

Read the full insights & takeaways in the accompanying document below:

Education Day Session1 – Schools

 

The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) brings together business, trade, investment and education partners from the UK, Iraq and beyond to support a free, prosperous and diversified Iraq.

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