Shafaq News- Nineveh

Around 1.2 million pupils are enrolled in primary schools across Nineveh province this academic year, with local authorities working to build 135 additional schools to address shortages, Governor Abdul Qadir Al-Dakhil told Shafaq News on Saturday.

More than 3,200 schools are operating across the province’s cities and districts. Al-Dakhil said the planned 135 new schools are being funded through regional development allocations, stabilization support and border-crossing revenues to ease pressure on existing facilities.

The province also registered about 115,000 first-grade pupils this year. The high enrollment prompted local authorities, in coordination with the Education Ministry and Nineveh’s General Directorate of Education, to prepare schools, teaching staff and logistical requirements ahead of the new academic year.

Iraq faces a nationwide shortage of more than 10,000 schools, with some areas relying on mud-built and caravan classrooms and others operating double or triple shifts to accommodate students. The Education Ministry said about 1,700 schools entered service last year under the Chinese-backed school construction project, while around 700 others were completed through separate programs.

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