Shafaq News- Basra

Four students fainted at prefabricated schools in Basra’s Shatt Al-Arab district due to high temperatures and a lack of electricity, a parent told Shafaq News on Tuesday.

The parent said fears of electric shocks have prevented electricity from being switched on at Tufan Al-Aqsa, Kut Al-Kawam Primary School for Boys and Minnat El-Rahman Primary School for Girls, which have operated from caravan-style structures for years.

At Tufan Al-Aqsa School in the district’s Al-Salihiyah area, classes resumed despite a fire before the start of the new academic year. According to the parent, Civil Defense authorities had previously warned against using the school because it was unsafe and vulnerable to fire.

“Authorities must find an urgent solution and transfer students to safe school buildings rather than continue classes in caravans,” the parent urged.

Iraq needs more than 10,000 additional schools and relies on around 1,000 mud-built and prefabricated facilities, Education Ministry spokesperson Karim Al-Sayyid previously told Shafaq News. The Eco Iraq Observatory has estimated that around 200 mud-built schools and 800 prefabricated schools remain in use in Saladin and Dhi Qar, identifying densely populated Baghdad, Mosul, Basra and Dhi Qar as priorities for new school construction.

Read more: Overcrowding leaves Iraq short over 10,000 schools