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School Renovations Provide Hope for Iraq’s Future

Jun-16-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

[Link to CENTCOM Press Release]
Story by Spc. Blair Larson

MOSUL, Iraq-- Education is an important factor in shaping the future of Iraq, but according to studies by the United Nations, one in every four children in Iraq today do not attend school.

Coalition forces are working with leaders of the district of Seran in Irbil Province to change this by improving schools that are in disrepair and building new schools in areas where there are none.

“Rural education was never a priority of the old regime,” said Seyid Ismel, the mayor of Rawandez, a sub district of Seran in northern Iraq. “Because of this, our children and our communities have suffered.”

Many of the existing schools in Seran are in disrepair because of destruction from many wars that have plagued the area over the last 30 years. In recent years, to get children into schools sooner, Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish Democratic Party, urged families who have two homes to give one up to be made into a school. However, residents who were displaced from their homes during the previous regime are slowly moving back into the area, causing the local population to grow.

“We now have 238 schools in Seran for 46,000 children,” said Ismel. “Most of these schools have only two rooms, or are badly damaged. We just don’t have enough schools for the students in the area.”

Some local schools have been forced to divide their school days in half to allow the children to go to school in shifts. In some cases, there are as many as 70 students per classroom.

“There should never be more than 25 students in a classroom,” said Hoshyar Sibri, principal of one of the local schools. “It’s our responsibility to educate our children and to give them an environment in which they can learn.”

Soldiers from the 416th Civil Affairs Battalion are working with local leaders and the Coalition Provisional Authority on a rural education plan for the Seran area. The plan will bring 12 new six-room schools to the area, one for each subdistrict, and 15 to 21 new buses to transport the children to the schools.

“We are trying to assess where to put these schools based on where it will affect the most children,” said 1st Lt. Timothy Hilfiger, a Civil Affairs team leader. Soldiers from the 416th are also overseeing several school renovation projects in the area.

The school projects will not only help the local children learn better, but also provide jobs through the many local contracts that are awarded for the renovation and construction work.

“In the long term, education is the key to the success of Iraq,” said Hilfiger. “These projects will leave a positive, lasting image of what the Coalition is here to do and will affect many generations to come.”


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