KRG Ministry of Education Overhauls 110 Textbooks to Modernize Curriculum
At a glance
- The KRG revised nearly a hundred educational textbooks.
- Ministry officials maintain that the official curriculum is complete, stating clear opposition to private tutoring.
- The updates alter materials for Mathematics, Science, Kurdish, Arabic, and Chemistry.
Channel8 understands that the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Education modified 110 textbooks, introducing several entirely new editions to update the curriculum.
Key Statements and Focus Areas
- According to Hassan Sarteep, the ministry’s Director General of Curricula, the updates cover most educational stages and span all languages of instruction.
- Sarteep stated that the changes aim to modernize what students learn.
The Director General of Curricula stressed that the ministry opposes private tutoring, commercial study guides, and unofficial handouts.
He highlighted that these resources drain parents' finances and drift away from the core curriculum. Teachers who offer private lessons operate without ministry approval, placing all responsibility on themselves and the parents.
The curriculum overhaul includes 11 kindergarten packages. It also changes mathematics for grades 4, 5, 6, and 11.
In addition, the ministry updated science books for grades 6, 8, and 9, as well as grade 11 chemistry.
By contrast, religious studies remain completely unchanged. Grade 12 materials received only standard corrections.
FYI
The curriculum changes apply to textbooks printed in Kurdish, Arabic, English, Turkmen, and Syriac. The Ministry also introduced three new textbooks for Art education.
Meanwhile, grade 12 Geography, History, and Economics books received simple content updates.
The Ministry of Education restated that its official printed books leave no gaps, rendering external study guides unnecessary.
These new measures are part of the KRG's educational modernization agenda. The ministry earlier rolled out the "My School" interactive digital learning platform. The system targets primary school students before expanding to higher grades.
Over the past year, per the ministry's figures, 30 new school buildings were constructed, 43 existing structures were renovated, and 32 schools were equipped with clean solar energy systems. Officials also deployed 200 interactive smart boards into local classrooms.
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