Iraq begins high school ministerial exams with COVID-19 measures

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Twelfth-grade ministerial exams in Iraq started on Saturday morning for about half a million students throughout the country, except for the Kurdistan Region.

The Iraqi Ministry of Education said Friday that it had completed preparations for the exams, which will be taken by 483,239 students from the scientific and literary branches of high school.

Exams will be carried out with COVID-19 health measures in place due to the pandemic.

The ministry said it hoped that the new school year would begin in mid-October.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi inspected a number of examination centers in the capital, telling students, "despite the health, economic, and security compelling conditions that the country is going through, and the frequent targeting of energy towers, we insisted that these exams be successful with your determination to face the challenge and achieve success."

“The health situation is serious. And we need to adhere to safety measures as much as possible, and with this today you are taking exams and facing difficulties,” he continued, adding that there is nothing more important than education.

On Friday Iraq recorded 6,121 new COVID-19 infections, and 67 deaths, bringing the total to 1,815,497, including 20,025 deaths.