IRAQ COUNTRY REPORT ON OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN

ALL IN SCHOOL MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN INITIATIVE SUMMARY IRAQ COUNTRY REPORT ON OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN OCTOBER 2014

2015 UNICEF Iraq Country Office Cover photo: UNICEF/2012/Khuzai

Summary Genera context and the education sector Iraq covers a tota area of about 438,317 square kiometres, and its popuation is estimated to be approximatey 34.2 miion peope (for the year 2012.) Iraq is exceptionay rich in oi. Its proven reserves, approximatey 143 biion barres, are among the highest in the word. The Iraqi economy has witnessed remarkabe progress, with a growth rate exceeding 8.5 per cent over the past three years, which in turn contributed to the rise of GDP per capita from approximatey US$ 1,300 in 2005 to US$ 6,700 in 2013. Athough some socia indicators have improved, such as the unempoyment rate, which decreased to 11 per cent from around 18 per cent in 2005, demographic pressures sti exist aong with economic disparities. In fact, peope under 15 years of age represent more than 40 per cent of the tota popuation, whie poverty remains one of the paramount socia concerns in Iraq, athough the poverty rate has had a sight decine (18.9 per cent in 2012 compared to 22.9 per cent in 2007). However, this rate is sti high on the nationa eve and exceeds 40 per cent in some governorates. As for the iiteracy rate, this exceeds 20 per cent in centra Iraq; which is a high percentage, as is the case in the governorates of the Kurdistan region, which suffers from iiteracy as we. In the period preceding the 1991 events, Iraq had one of the best education systems in the region, as the iiteracy rate among the 15 to 45 year od age group had decined to ess than 10 per cent. The period from 1970 to 1984 was caed the goden period due to high enroment rates, and spending on education reached 20 per cent of the tota government budget. However, the remnants of successive wars since the ate 1980s has ed to a war-weakened infrastructure and impeded the deivery of socia services; as a resut, education has suffered a significant deterioration during the period from 1999 to 2003. The education sector has witnessed striking deveopment since 2004 under the supervision of the Ministries of Education of both the centra government of Iraq and the Kurdistan regiona government. The number of students enroed at a eves of education reached 9.5 miion in 2013, in 28,730 schoos, and there were more than 550,000 teaching staff. These figures indicate a remarkabe increase in the number of students compared to the academic year 2004-2005, where the number of students enroed in a stages of education was 6.5 miion, in 20,508 schoos, with 343,614 teaching staff members. Methodoogy and approach This report identifies schoo excusion in accordance with the methodoogy deveoped by the Goba Out-of-Schoo Chidren Initiative (OOSCI), which consists of the foowing Five Dimensions of Excusion: Summary Iraq Country Report on Out-of-Schoo Chidren 1

Dimension 1: Pre-primary age chidren not in pre-primary or primary schoo Dimension 2: Primary age chidren not in primary or secondary schoo Dimension 3: Lower secondary schoo age chidren not in primary or secondary schoo Dimension 4: Primary schoo chidren at risk of dropping out (excusion) Dimension 5: Lower secondary schoo chidren at risk of dropping out (excusion) The report has adopted an anaysis of the administrative data coected by the Department of Education Statistics Bureau of the Ministries of Education of both the centra government of Iraq and the Kurdistan regiona government, as we as the data of the Ministry of Panning. The report aso benefited from the data and resuts of socioogica surveys carried out by the Centra Bureau of Statistics of the Ministry of Panning in coordination with internationa organizations such as: the Iraq Househod Socio-Economic Survey 2007 (IHSES1); the Iraq Househod Socio-Economic Survey 2012 (IHSES2); and the Mutipe Indicator Custer Surveys of 2006 (MICS3) and 2011 (MICS4). It is noteworthy that this study provides a description and anaysis of the non-enroment phenomenon among chidren in Iraq as a whoe; therefore, it provides a description and anaysis of this in Iraq (the centre) and in Kurdistan (the region) separatey. As a resut, it is distinct from previous studies carried out in this context. Such a three dimensiona approach has been adopted in various parts of the report in order to compare the data of the Kurdistan region with the data of the centre, as we as to ensure the provision of a comprehensive and unified picture of Iraq as a whoe. The Five Dimensions of Excusion The foowing tabe provides a summary of the most important resuts reated to the Five Dimensions of Excusion in 2013: Summary of the Five Dimensions of Excusion (2013) Girs Boys Tota Number % Number % Number % Out-of-schoo chidren Dimension 1: Five-year-od chidren 376,790 75.4% 400,573 33.6% 777,363 75.7% Iraq centre 345,508 79.2% 366,146 79.3% 711,654 79.3% Kurdistan region 31,282 49.4% 34,428 52.1% 65,710 50.7% Dimension 2: Chidren aged between 6 and 11 years od (primary schoo) 323,095 11.3% 162,009 5.4% 485,104 8.3% Iraq centre 309,568 12.5% 151,081 5.7% 460,649 9.0% Kurdistan region 13,527 3.7% 10,928 2.8% 24,455 3.2% Dimension 3: Chidren aged between 12 and 14 years od (secondary schoo) 449,164 35.0% 202,192 16.4% 651,356 25.9% Iraq centre 423,984 38.3% 190,422 18.0% 614,406 28.4% Kurdistan region 25,180 14.2% 11,770 6.7% 36,950 10.5% Tota number of out-of-schoo chidren 1,149,049 24.8% 764,775 16.0% 1,913,824 20.3% Iraq centre 1,079,059 26.8% 707,649 17.0% 1,786,708 21.8% Kurdistan region 69,989 11.5% 57,126 9.1% 127,115 10.3% Chidren at risk of dropping out Dimension 4: Chidren enroed at the primary stage 447,902 15.7% 450,224 13.6% 898,126 14.6% Iraq centre 416,147 16.9% 399,556 13.8% 815,703 15.2% Kurdistan region 31,755 8.3% 50,668 12.0% 82,423 10.2% Dimension 5: Chidren enroed at secondary schoo 55,198 7.0% 104,594 8.7% 159,792 8.0% Iraq centre 44,690 7.2% 92,843 9.4% 137,533 8.6% Kurdistan region 10,508 6.0% 11,751 5.5% 22,259 5.7% Tota number of chidren at risk of dropping out 573,089 15.7% 611,944 13.6% 1,185,033 14.5% Iraq centre 530,826 17.2% 549,525 14.2% 1,080,351 15.5% Kurdistan region 42,263 7.6% 62,419 9.8% 104,682 8.8% Note: Due to the rounding of estimates, the sum of disaggregated numbers coud be different from the tota number (+1 or -1). 2 Midde East and North Africa Out-of-Schoo Chidren Initiative

The resuts of the study show that the number of five-year-od out-of-schoo chidren whether their stage is pre-primary or primary has reached around 777,000 chidren, of whom 712,000 chidren reside in the governorates of Iraq (the centre), whie ess than 66,000 chidren reside in the governorates of the Kurdistan region. Hence, it is apparent that approximatey three quarters of the chidren of the age of 5 years are out of schoo. This percentage is equivaent to 80 per cent of the number of Iraqi chidren, except for in the Kurdistan region where the number decines to ess than 51 per cent. On the other hand, MICS4 resuts confirm the weakness of pre-primary enroment eves, as ony around 5 per cent of chidren who enroed in the first grade of primary schoo in 2011 were enroed in pre-primary education the previous year. The resuts aso show that there are approximatey 485,000 chidren aged between 6 and 11 years od who are out of schoo and do not take part in officia educationa services. These chidren accounted for 8.3 per cent of a chidren within that age group. This dimension of schoo excusion shows that there are gender-specific differences, as the excusion rate among girs is approximatey twice the rate of excusion among boys. Moreover, the resuts aso showed that the excusion rate in Iraq (the centre) is more than doube the rate of excusion in the Kurdistan region. Those rates match the resuts of MICS4 carried out in 2011, with a decrease in the rates of excusion between 2011 and 2013 by 1.3 percentage points. The study estimates that the number of chidren aged between 12 and 14 who are out of schoo is more than 650,000 chidren, of whom 614,000 are in the governorates of Iraq (the centre) and around 37,000 are in the governorates of the Kurdistan region, whie the number of girs represents neary two thirds of the tota numbers. The tota net enroment ratio in secondary schoos is 74.1 per cent, with a significant difference among regions (71.6 per cent in Iraq (the centre) and 89.5 per cent in the Kurdistan region), and among girs (65.0 per cent) and boys (83.6 per cent). This means that more than a quarter of Iraq s chidren aged between 12 and 14 are not enroed in schoo; this percentage represents 28.4 per cent of the tota number of chidren in Iraq with the exception of the Kurdistan region, where the percentage decines to ess than 11 per cent. This incudes different rates of excusion for girs and boys, with the excusion rate among girs at 35 per cent, whie it remains around 16.4 per cent among boys. It is noted that there is correspondence and consistency in these resuts, which were extracted depending on the administrative data and survey resuts (MICS4). By identifying the Five Dimensions of Excusion, we can deduce that: Schoo excusion in a dimensions is a significant phenomenon, especiay in Iraq (the centre). Dimension 1 is the most important in both Iraq (the centre) and the Kurdistan region, as pre-schoo education, incuding pre-primary education, is not given priority. Dimension 2 remains a source of concern in Iraq (the centre), where a arge percentage of primary-age chidren are not enroed at schoo, showing the difficuty of achieving the Miennium Deveopment Goas (MDGs) in this area. The impementation of a basic obigatory educationa system heped reduce the number of out-of-schoo chidren in Dimension 3 in the Kurdistan region. Dimension 4 represents a considerabe source of schoo excusion, as one out of every six students is at risk of dropping out of schoo before reaching the sixth grade of primary schoo. There are sti quaitative differences in education for girs versus boys in the primary and secondary stages. Summary Iraq Country Report on Out-of-Schoo Chidren 3

The phenomenon of chid abour Chidren having access to free and obigatory education of good quaity unti the minimum age for entry to empoyment is a critica factor in the strugge against the economic expoitation of chidren. The resuts of MICS4 show that more than 6 per cent of chidren aged between 5 and 14 are engaged in chid abour, i.e., approximatey 580,000 chidren. The phenomenon of chid abour is associated with boys (7.3 per cent) more than with girs (5.4 per cent). It aso ceary centred in the governorates of Iraq (the centre) (7.1 per cent compared to 2.2 per cent in Kurdistan). Whie the phenomenon of chid abour is ess pronounced among students enroed in schoo, these chidren are not excuded, as the chid abour rate among enroed students is around 5.5 per cent compared with 9.5 per cent among their unenroed peers. A comparison between the MICS of 2011 and 2006 shows that chid abour has remarkaby decreased, as the empoyment rate decreased from 10.5 per cent in 2006 to 6.4 per cent in 2011. In a cases, poverty remains one of the most important reasons for the phenomenon of chid abour. The resuts show that the percentage of chid abour among chidren beonging to the poorest househods is up to 10.7 per cent, whie it decines to 2.7 per cent among chidren beonging to the weathiest househods. Educationa care for chidren with disabiities is provided through institutes speciaizing in menta and physica disabiities as we as through the estabishment of integrated casses for specia education in mainstream schoos. Schoo statistics indicate that the number of schoos equipped with casses for specia education has reached around 1,660, and the number of chidren benefiting from specia education casses has reached 17,000. Nevertheess, the proiferation of specia education remains imited, as there are no casses for specia education students in neary 92 per cent of mainstream schoos. The resuts of the MICS3 of 2006 show that neary 15 per cent of chidren aged between 2 and 14 are suffering from at east one type of disabiity. The number of chidren aged between 5 and 14 years od who suffer from at east one type of disabiity, whether mid or severe, was around 1.2 miion chidren in 2013. In comparison with the number of chidren covered by specia education and institutes for the handicapped, which remains in the range of 13,000, we can painy see the shortage of educationa and schoo faciities for handicapped chidren, who undoubtedy represent an important segment of out-of-schoo chidren. Barriers and poicies 1: The enabing environment Lack of awareness of the importance of education, and femae education in particuar: In an environment characterized by a high iiteracy rate (20.5 per cent), awareness of the importance of education in genera, and femae education in particuar, as a rea factor in the deveopment of individuas and society as a whoe may decrease. The resuts of MICS4 show that a mother s educationa eve aong with the poverty eve represent the most important determinants in the enroment of chidren especiay girs at schoo. The primary-age excusion phenomenon incudes more than a quarter of the number of girs who have iiterate mothers, and more than haf of these girs when they reach the age of enroment at intermediate schoo. The higher a mother s educationa eve becomes, the ower the excusion rate, showing a remarkabe decine. Poverty and its socia and economic impacts on ow-income househods: Approximatey one fifth of Iraq s popuation ives beow the poverty ine. The resuts of surveys and the concusions of focus groups and consutative workshops that were prepared during the course of this study show the importance of socia probems, especiay the iving conditions of househods, and their roe in determining the chidren s schoo situation. Poverty is considered one of the most important impediments to enroing and staying in schoo. The resuts of MICS4 have shown that the phenomenon of excusion is prevaent mainy among poor househods. 4 Midde East and North Africa Out-of-Schoo Chidren Initiative

Chidren beonging to weathy househods are more ikey to go to schoo and earn. The excusion rates of severey poor househods are 10 times (at primary schoo) and 5 times (at secondary schoo) the rate of chidren from weathy househods. These statistics have been confirmed by the resuts of the Iraq Househod Socioeconomic Survey of 2012. The resuts showed that the decine of enroment rates at various eves of education is associated with the decine of iving conditions of the househod. The direct reation between enroment rates and a househod s iving conditions becomes cearer in the intermediate (ower secondary) and preparatory (upper secondary) schoo stages, as rates of net enroment reach up to 24.4 per cent and 9.5 per cent, respectivey, among the severey poor segment of society compared with 60.9 per cent and 38.8 per cent among chidren from weathy househods. Since 2009, Iraq has deveoped a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy that aims mainy to raise the monthy income of the poor, to improve their heath eve, to faciitate and improve their education, and to provide them with better housing and effective socia protection. This strategy aso aims to reduce inequaity among poor women and men. Specificay, the strategy seeks to reduce the poor popuation from 7 miion to 5 miion peope, and to reduce the iiteracy rate from 28 per cent to 14 per cent by increasing enroment rates at the primary, intermediate and preparatory education eves. In the education sector, Iraq s poverty reduction strategy comprises six main perspectives in addition to a number of objectives; among them the passage of aws and instructions for basic obigatory education, incuding amending the constitution to extend obigatory education to the intermediate stage and prioritizing the estabishment of primary, intermediate, and preparatory schoos in poor neighbourhoods. The strategy aso aims to amend the aws and reguations regarding the socia protection network in order to ink it with the registration of chidren in househods covered by socia subsidies for basic education; to enhance educationa efficiency in poor urban and rura areas; to take various measures to reduce the number of iiterate peope; and to deveop and appy curricua for inking vocationa education with the abour market, especiay in the agricutura and rura sectors. Popuar traditions regarding the roe of women and the acceptance of eary marriage for girs: Eary marriage represents a significant obstace preventing Iraqi girs from continuing their education, especiay for girs at the intermediate stage. Data has shown that this phenomenon, athough decining in the Kurdistan region, has worsened in Iraq (the centre), as the percentage of women who marry before the age of 15 increased from 5.2 per cent in 2006 to 5.6 per cent in 2011. In addition, the percentage of women who marry before the age of 18 increased from 10 per cent to 23.5 per cent. Those percentages are high in various areas, both rura and urban, but they decine remarkaby as the mother s educationa eve rises. These resuts confirm the controversia reationship between the different generations and their views on the issue of femae education. 2: Legisation and poicies The Iraqi constitution acknowedges education as a key factor in the progress of society, stating that education is a fundamenta factor in the progress of society, and that free education in a of its stages is a right guaranteed by the state for a Iraqis. It aso confirms that the state sha care for peope with disabiities and specia needs, ensure their basic rights are provided and their human needs met, and ensure their rehabiitation in order to reintegrate them into society. In a joint project, the Ministries of Education and Higher Education in both Iraq (the centre) and the Kurdistan region have deveoped the Comprehensive Nationa Strategy for Education and Higher Education for the period 2012-2022, which aims to reform and deveop the education and higher education system based on the deveopment needs and requirements of the Iraqi society, incuding Kurdish society. This strategy takes into Summary Iraq Country Report on Out-of-Schoo Chidren 5

account the specificity of nationa minorities, making them active participants in the production of knowedge with the optima use of human, natura and financia resources to ensure the achievement of overa deveopment, a decent standard of iving, equa opportunities and peace in Iraq. The Comprehensive Nationa Strategy for Education and Higher Education has severa objectives, procedures and options for achieving its desired objectives. With regard to the deveopment of opportunities avaiabe in pre-university education, the strategy intends to achieve net enroment rates up to 30 per cent in kindergarten, 99 per cent in the primary stage, and 70 per cent in the intermediate stage (except for the Kurdistan region); and 99 per cent in the basic educationa stage in the Kurdistan region. It aso aims to raise the eve of education so as to reduce repetition rates to 3 per cent in the primary and intermediate stages, and dropout rates to 1 per cent in the primary stage and 3 per cent in the intermediate stage. Among the options adopted by the strategy to achieve those objectives are: amending the constitution in order to make education obigatory in the intermediate (basic) stage; providing financia incentives for students, especiay in rura areas and poor househods; adopting community awareness programmes stressing the importance of enroment in a stages of education; and providing an appropriate educationa environment in order to attract students. 3: Suppy and demand sides The most important constraints of the suppy side are the foowing: Doube-shift schoos as we as their imited number in rura areas. Unquaified teachers, and those who foow traditiona teaching methods. Lack of an effective evauation system for students, especiay in the fifth grade. Lack of schoo equipment and teaching aids. Besides the constraints reating to suppy, the resuts of the surveys show that 73 per cent and 85 per cent of the factors identified in schoo non-enroment are reated to the issue of demand. It is cear that the ack of interest of individuas and househods comes to the forefront of the reasons of schoo dropout, both at the primary education stage (48.7 per cent) and at the intermediate education stage (59.9 per cent) as a resut of decining economic returns on investment in education, as we as the decine of the financia return of schoo certificates in an environment marked by rising unempoyment among young peope. Key recommendations Poicies: Enforcing of the obigatory education aw. Expanding the scope of the group covered by obigatory education to incude the age group between 5 and 14 and in the governorates of Iraq. Focusing on deveoping and impementing a strategy for training teachers in kindergartens and pubic education. Deveoping a pan of schoo distribution among regions. 6 Midde East and North Africa Out-of-Schoo Chidren Initiative

Providing faciities for the private sector in order to open kindergarten casses and nationa schoos. Appying the aw stipuating monthy financia grants for primary schoo students and intermediate stage students in order to hep them meet their basic needs to compete their studies. Increasing the expenditures aocated to the Ministry of Education from the state budget and deveoping techniques of financia programming and successfu methods of budget impementation. Giving high priority to caring for chidren with specia needs and providing them with specia care. Promoting cooperation between the Ministry of Labour and Socia Affairs and the Ministry of Education in the deveopment of private institutes for peope with specia needs, increasing their number, equipping them with speciaized teaching cadres, providing appropriate faciities for creating an enabing earning environment, and expanding their scope to incude a governorates. Finding modern, working mechanisms that wi reduce repetition in the primary stage with the incusion of a schoo card as a reference for student performance evauation, reconsidering the mechanism by which primary schoo students move to the intermediate stage, and taking a necessary educationa measures to reduce the repetition percentage in the fifth grade. Awareness and participation: Activating the roe of boards of parents and giving them the powers required. Raising awareness among househods, especiay in rura, poor and remote areas, of the necessity and importance of education for both girs and boys. Deveoping a pan for communication and awareness, which may initiay depend on the initiative of the speciaized resources of the Ministry of Education in preparing educationa programmes for househods to enighten them on the vaue of education and earning and expain the risks of their chidren dropping out. Educationa services and their quaity: Emphasizing the practica side of the appication of scientific subjects in daiy ife, adopting an educationa curricua based on activities and technoogy, providing an effective earning environment, and encouraging critica thinking, as we as providing the requirements of these curricua incuding competent teachers, effective educationa administration, and modern buidings, aboratories, and technoogy. Activating the roe of socia workers in primary and intermediate schoos and giving them the necessary power to instruct, guide and foow the students, especiay those who are at risk of dropping out. Encouraging cooperation between the schoos and medica cinics affiiated with the Ministry of Heath in providing periodic medica examinations of students and promoting heath awareness. Providing enabing, therapeutic education for students who have earning difficuties. Giving rewards to outstanding students and teachers, and awarding schoarships to teachers to compete their studies inside and outside of Iraq. Deveoping teacher skis by organizing on-the-job training courses for them. Encouraging the appropriate use of various evauation techniques according to their specific goas, and not imiting evauation to the cognitive side ony. Paying attention to vocationa education and deveoping it according to internationa standards. Summary Iraq Country Report on Out-of-Schoo Chidren 7

To compement this study, we propose the foowing recommendations: Conducting annua foow-up surveys of the impementation of this study s suggestions for the purpose of evauating and measuring what has been achieved regarding increasing the number of enroed chidren. Conducting a study evauating the curricua foowed in Iraq, incuding the objectives and content of scientific materia, the teaching methods and the evauation techniques, for the purpose of anaysing the actua reasons behind student repetition, especiay the students of the fifth grade. Some peope beieve the reason behind this repetition is reated to the curricuum being foowed. This study sha be conducted according to accepted internationa standards. The number of students at risk of dropping out in every governorate can be determined by finding an accurate scientific mechanism, through fied research, to determine the characteristics. 8 Midde East and North Africa Out-of-Schoo Chidren Initiative

For more information visit our Website: www.oosci-mena.org UNICEF Iraq Internationa Zone United Nations compound Baghdad, Iraq Te: +964 1 7809 126 785 Fax: +962 6 55 13 745 Emai: baghdad@unicef.org Website: www.unicef.org/iraq