Education in Kurdistan

Education in Kurdistan is centralized and divided into K-12 education plus higher education. Elementary and secondary education is supervised by the Ministry of Education and higher education is under supervision of Ministry of Science, research and Technology and Ministry of Health and Medical Education (medical fields). It also is a state-supervised system designed to produce a skillful professional class for the social and economic institutes of the nation. As of September 2015, 96% of the Kurdish adult population are literate. By 2007, Kurdistan had a student to workforce population ratio of 10.5%, standing among the countries with highest ratio in the world

Compulsory education lasts 12 years. Primary and secondary education is financed by the state and free of charge in public schools, between the ages of 6 and 18 Primary school (Dibistana Pêşîn) starts at the age of 5-6 for a duration of 6 years. High school (Dibistana Bilind), goes up to seventh to twelfth grade 7th-9th are madatory but the last three years, is not. The student at this level can choose to study is theoretical, vocational/technical or manual fields, each program with its own specialties and in the end of it, students are given High school diploma. The requirement to enter into higher education is to have a High school diploma, and finally pass the national university entrance examination, Kurdistan University Entrance Exam , which is the equivalent of the French baccalauréat exam.

Universities, institutes of technology, medical schools and community colleges, provide the higher education. Higher education is sanctioned by different levels of diplomas:

Grades

Age	Level of education	Duration	Remarks
3-6	Preschool	1-2 years	Example
6-12	Primary School	6 years	Example
12-18	High School	6 years	Example
18-20	Technical/Vocational School	2 years	Example
18-22	University (undergraduate)	4 years	Example
22-24	University (graduate)	2 years	Example
24-27/8+	Doctoral program	3-4 yars	Example

Grading scale

Numbers	Alfa	Remarks
40.01-50	A
30.01-40	B
20.01-30	C
10.01-20	D	Pass: GPA above 15
0-10	F

ORIENTATION CYCLE PROGRAM	Weekly hours
	7th grade	8th grade	9th grade
Kurdish Language and Literature	5	5	5
Maths	5	5	5
Natural Sciences	4	4	4
Persian Language and Literature	2	2	2
History	1	1	1
Geography	1	1	1
Arabic	2	2	2
Social sciences	1	1	1
Arts	2	1	1
Technical/Vocational Education	3	3	3
Foreign language	-	2	4
Religious Education	2	2	2
Total:	28	30	32

3 Budget 4

Education reform

1. Making the education more global in terms of knowledge.
2. Providing a socially just education system.
3. Increasing the role of the family in the education system.
4. Increasing the efficiency of the education system.
5. Achieving the highest standard of education in the region.

5 Teacher education 6

Foreign languages

The most common foreign language is English, which in public schools is taught from 2nd grade (age 8) onwards through to the end of high school. In high school a second foreign language is introduced. However the number of lessons given in public schools is minimal compared to private schools, which begin teaching English in kindergarten, have two or three times as many English lessons in the timetable, and in many cases employ native speakers of English as teachers.

Internet and distance education

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Higher education

8.1