Kurdistan PM rings bell for new academic year, unveils education plan

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani rang a class bell to start the new 2020-2021 academic year across the autonomous region on Sunday, taking into account current preventive measures and health guidelines aimed to limit the outbreak of the coronavirus.

At a ceremony held in a school in Erbil’s Baharka district attended by the Minister of Education Alan Hama Saeed and several other officials, Barzani expressed his support of the new school year, calling on students to exert their utmost efforts to achieve academic excellence and future success.

He went on to acknowledge that the outbreak of the coronavirus' negative impact on the education sector and the economy worldwide, and the Kurdistan Region in particular.

"We continue to implement our government program and we are making all efforts to reduce the impact of the crisis," he said, adding, "We have a good plan to further develop the education sector in the region."

"Professors and teachers have always been at the forefront of serving the Kurdistan Region," he continued, stressing that "students should receive education in a manner befitting them."

"We will continue to fulfil what we promised since the beginning of the formation of the government," he vowed.

"Your safety is the most important thing for us," Barzani said as he called on students, teachers, and other education employees to adhere to health instructions and measures, such as wearing masks, gloves, and to consistently practice social distancing. During the ceremony, the Minister of Education thanked the Prime Minister for allocating 540 million IQD ($452,000) to provide health supplies to schools as part of the effort.

Attending schools for the new study year will be required only from the first and second classes of primary schools and the final year of high schools, while the rest of the students will learning online from home to limit the spread of the global pandemic.

Read More: Kurdistan Region applies distance learning for first half of new academic year

The regional cabinet made the decision “after assessing all the options and due to ongoing coronavirus infections in the Kurdistan Region,” and delegated the authority to relevant ministries to “announce an academic calendar” for the first half of the academic year.

Editing by John J. Catherine