KRG facilitates examinations for students displaced by Sinjar clashes

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Education announced on Thursday that it has facilitated examinations for students displaced by the latest clashes between the Iraqi Army and militias in Sinjar. 

The decision was taken to protect and uphold the student’s right to education following the rapid deterioration of security in their hometown, the ministry said in a statement. 

Those students that are part of the “Kurdish education” system in Yezidi-majority Sinjar and are now residing in internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps can take their exams either inside those camps or outside, the statement added. 

The General Education Directorate of Duhok has the “full authority” to reschedule exams for students who are not yet prepared to take their exams. 

“None of the students shall be deprived of their rights [to education] because of being displaced from their places of origin,” the ministry stressed. 

The Iraqi Ministry of Education has also vowed to take similar steps to protect the rights of the displaced students, the ministry added after a phone call with Iraqi authorities. 

Nearly 1,000 families have been displaced due to renewed clashes between the Iraqi Army and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)-affiliated militias in Sinjar. The military aims to push out the militias, which it accuses of erecting illegal checkpoints and challenging the state security forces. 

Those displaced from the latest fighting were welcomed in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province.

The federal and regional governments have two different education directorates, respectively referred to as “Arabic and Kurdish education”.