Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq’s new school year has opened in disarray, with students in Baghdad entering their third week of classes still waiting for full textbooks.

At a bookstore near a secondary school in the capital, final-year student Zulfiqar Murtada held photocopied sheets in place of his English book and told Shafaq News that every day of delay heightens their anxiety. “We expected to begin from the first day, but we are already behind in grammar and reading, and this subject decides our chances to enter medical or engineering colleges.” His classmate, Haidar Mohammad, expressed anger, questioning how a core subject like English could remain unavailable.

The disruption has also weighed heavily on families. Parent Abdul Ali Hussein criticized the Education Ministry, arguing that it had already abandoned responsibilities for basic school facilities. “Now it adds incomplete textbooks, creating another financial burden on us after we already paid for private lessons during the summer,” he complained.

Teachers confirmed the shortfall, with English instructor Maytham al-Ghazi explaining that schools received only part of the revised English book in PDF format, which students had to print at their own expense. He added that the ministry introduced limited updates after older editions were worn out, adjusting some exercises and sections.

The issue quickly reached parliament, where lawmaker Hamid Kazem al-Zamili denounced the decision as poorly timed, warning that most students had prepared for the old curriculum during the summer and urging the government to delay implementation until next year, once the new editions are ready.

In response, ministry spokesman Karim al-Sayyid affirmed that only the English curriculum had been fully revised, while other subjects underwent partial updates.