Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s decision to contract 38,000 teachers marks a turning point in Kurdistan’s education, addressing systemic issues and improving teachers’ livelihoods.
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani decided to contract teachers. On August 4, 2024, the Iraqi Finance Minister refused to sign any contract or approve permanent employment for teachers in the Kurdistan Region.
Alan Hama Saeed, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Education, explained that the situation for teachers was dire before the ninth cabinet. Some teachers earned as little as 150,000, 200,000, or 250,000 Iraqi dinars, while others received just 16,000 dinars in March due to large number of holidays. Prime Minister Masrour Barzani decided to address and improve this situation.
Minister Saeed noted that the improvements occurred in two stages. First, under Instruction No. 14, teachers’ salaries were raised to 400,000 Iraqi dinars. Under the Prime Minister’s recommendation in the second stage, a delegation traveled to Baghdad and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Sudani, presenting a list of teachers. Despite these efforts, Iraq decided not to hire teachers in the Kurdistan Region on a permanent or contractual basis.
The minister shared that teachers’ representatives had requested a meeting with Prime Minister Barzani, acknowledging his commitment to education and concern for teachers’ well-being. During the meeting, Prime Minister Barzani, through the representatives, announced the contracting of all teachers. On August 28, 2024, he signed the decision.
Minister Saeed emphasized that this was entirely Prime Minister Barzani’s decision. The KRG was in contact with Baghdad for over four months, but the teachers’ demands were continuously rejected. Meanwhile, the federal government hired its own people, ignoring the needs of Kurdistan. He remarked that this is an injustice to the Kurdistan Region.
He pointed out that, while some neighboring countries have only been able to hire 6,000 contract teachers over the past two years, Prime Minister Barzani made the historic decision to hire 38,000 teachers. “This is not a complaint,” he assured the teachers. “I consider myself a servant to the teachers.”
“What the Prime Minister has done is unprecedented. We informed the teachers that we went to Baghdad to secure their salaries, but Baghdad did not respond,” Rekawt Sheikhany, a civil society activist in Erbil, told The Kurdish Globe. He noted that it was Prime Minister Barzani who truly cared about the teachers. This decision will have a significant impact on the education system in Kurdistan, as it addresses the gaps left by retiring teachers.
Reiterating the importance of the move, he stressed that the decision to contract teachers was made by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on August 25, 2024, without any delay. The KRG is proud of this decision, which was made with confidence and without hesitation.
Meanwhile, activist Nozhdar Harki told The Kurdish Globe: “Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s decision was met with great satisfaction by all teachers and their families. It has brought optimism and strength, allowing them to enter this school year with renewed courage.”
On Sunday, August 25, 2024, PM Barzani met with representatives of teachers from the Kurdistan Region. He thanked them for their unwavering service despite the challenging financial circumstances and acknowledged their commitment to their responsibilities.
Prime Minister Barzani also expressed his frustration with the federal government’s unfair treatment of the Kurdistan Region. For example, in other Iraqi provinces, nearly one million people have been employed in the past year, yet not a single position has been filled in the Kurdistan Region.
The KRG has now decided to contract all teachers in the Kurdistan Region, relying on domestic revenue to achieve this.
The representatives of the teachers expressed their gratitude to Prime Minister Barzani for his care, support, and fulfillment of their demands.
The Kurdish Globe