Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq admitted 224,583 students to public universities and institutes through its general admissions channel for the 2026-2027 academic year, up 38% from 162,522 last year, Deputy Higher Education Minister Haider Abdul Dahad announced on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference, Abdul Dahad said the admitted students included 189,484 graduates of the scientific secondary-school track, 35,098 from the literary track, and one from the arts track. Technical universities accounted for 84,107 admissions.

7,671 students achieved averages above 99%, putting significant pressure on medical colleges, he added. A total of 4,052 students were admitted to general medicine programs, where the minimum admission average reached 99.67%, compared with 98.74% for dentistry and 98.39% for pharmacy, according to the ministry.

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Iraq’s centralized admissions system allocates places at public universities and institutes based on students’ secondary-school results and selected programs. Abdul Dahad attributed the lack of placements for some applicants to tens of thousands not applying through the daytime central admissions system, while others selected programs that did not match their grades.

The ministry said it would soon open an online appeals process for students without placements, those who had not applied, and students with averages above 75% who were assigned to institutes. Students without placements will be able to revise their choices to match their grades.

It also plans to open applications for parallel public university and private higher education programs, allowing students already accepted at government institutions to retain their placements while applying through the additional channels.