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). As of September 2015, 96% of the Kurdish adult population are literate.

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 . 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: