Iraq returns 13K+ dropout students to school

Shafaq News- Baghdad

More than 13,000 Iraqi students who had dropped out of school resumed their education under the "Fursa" (Chance) program that achieved a 95% retention rate during the current academic year, the Education Ministry revealed on Saturday.

Ahmed Abbas Rashk, Director General of Financial Affairs and head of the national Back to Education campaign, said field teams “identified the main causes of dropout and the areas most affected,” without offering details.

The initiative provided school supplies, transportation support, and assistive devices for students with disabilities, while also training educational staff on supporting students returning to school, Project Director Eskol Kamel Najm explained.

Iraq has struggled with high dropout rates for years amid conflict, displacement, and poverty, with UNICEF estimating that nearly 3.2 million school-aged Iraqi children remain out of school nationwide. In February, then-caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani approved a five-year extension of the campaign to bring back such children to class.