A situational analysis of girls' education in Iraq
UNICEF
Highlights
This report contains a situation analysis of girls’ education in Iraq and recommendations for improving girls’ access to good quality schooling. The situation analysis is based on enrolment data provided by the Ministry of Education in Iraq, a range of currently available reports and other documentation, and on the responses of 80 Iraqi girls to a questionnaire relating to their own experiences of school and their views on girls’ education. The picture is incomplete because no data on girls’ attendance or success rates are available and these are crucial to a full situational analysis.
Two sets of recommendations are included in this report. The first for the government and education services in Iraq, address key policy issues and their implementation; the second for the Education Section of UNICEF Iraq are for consideration for inclusion in their work plan as is drawn up for the support of the provision of education in Iraq. Those for the government focus on policy development and implementation, awareness-raising, school improvement and development, pre-service and in-service teacher training, curriculum development, alternative education strategies, and security for girls travelling to and from school.
Those for UNICEF Iraq describe initiatives which would support national initiatives. They could be piloted in specific areas for ultimate mainstreaming in particular governorates or across Iraq. The recommended initiatives are designed to complement and extend the work already being carried out by UNICEF in collaboration with the Iraqi Government, Ministries of Education, Governorates and local groups, in line with the Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) 2007-2010.