Baghdad – IA – Hendren Makki
The Prime Minister’s Advisor for Education Affairs, Adnan Ibrahim Al-Sarraj, confirmed today, Monday, that 350,000 dropout students have been included in the second phase of the return to school initiative, which continues under the auspices of Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani.
Al-Sarraj said to the (INA): “The return-to-school initiative continues in its second phase after the success of its first phase, and continues under the guidance and care of Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, and it concerns dropout students. Imam Sadiq University, in cooperation with the National Security Advisory, facilitated the students’ affairs.” In schools by providing free private lessons.
He pointed out, “A request was submitted to all private universities and other parties to contribute to the second phase and participate in opening their universities to receive students,” stressing, “The program launched by the Prime Minister contributed to putting an end to school dropout, and this does not only include middle school students, but also It includes all educational levels.
He added, “The return-to-school initiative is being fully implemented with the attention of the Prime Minister and my direct supervision as an advisor for education affairs. Five committees were formed headed by the governors of Nineveh, Anbar, Salah al-Din, Kirkuk, and Diyala to implement it, and I began cooperating with UNICEF and developing a complete program for returning to schools.”
He stated, “The initiative focused on two types of students: school dropouts and external students who are not attending schools to take the final exams.”
He pointed out that “the first phase of the initiative included more than approximately seven governorates, and three thousand students participated in it, while the second phase included more than 350,000 students who dropped out of schools.”
In turn, the Dean of the College of Arts at Imam Jaafar Al-Sadiq University, Saad Al-Atrani, explained that “the return-to-study initiative continues in its second phase, in coordination with the Strategic Psychological Cell in the National Security Advisory. It was preceded by a first phase, and the target group was students who dropped out of preparatory school, because their numbers are large.” Compared to other categories.
He pointed out, “This initiative was submitted by the National Security Advisory and blessed and approved by Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, who directed the formation of the Diwani Order Committee 23996 to supervise the implementation of this initiative, headed by the Prime Minister’s Advisor for Education Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office and the membership of the Deputy Minister of Education.” And a representative of the National Security Advisory, as well as my membership as Dean of the College of Arts at Imam Jaafar al-Sadiq University.”
He warned, “The costs of the initiative are fully borne by Imam Jaafar al-Sadiq University (peace be upon him), and it includes the governorates in which the university’s branches are located, which are Baghdad, Kirkuk, Salah al-Din, Diyala, Dhi Qar, Samawah, Najaf al-Ashraf, and Maysan,” pointing out that it “provides strengthening courses in the university’s branches by Teachers from the Ministry of Education, and the university pays the wages.”
Regarding how to participate in these courses, he stated that “the student can register in our branches spread across eight governorates, and the applicant only needs to be successful in the preliminary exam, because the strengthening courses prepare him for the final exam.”
He added, “We do not force any student upon his graduation to study at Imam Sadiq University. He is free to choose his university studies after his graduation. However, if the student wants to study at our university, we will reduce his tuition fees by approximately 15 percent, in addition to there being wage reductions for the families of martyrs and those who have… Another student studying at the university or who is an orphan will benefit from discounts of 15-20 percent.”
He pointed out that “the initiative to return to school could develop and become permanent and annual, and it is also possible to include stages other than preparatory school, such as middle school,” pointing out that “a proposal has been presented to implement it in the rest of the Iraqi universities in all governorates of the country, including the governorates of the Kurdistan region.” .