ERBIL () - For more than 1.75 million students across the Kurdistan Region, the school year begins again on 20 September. Preparations in schools and kindergartens run by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Education are now complete for the 2026–27 academic year, according to a report by the KRG Department of Media and Information.
The system covers more than 7,590 schools, and this year's intake includes more than 123,000 first-grade students. Universities and institutes across the Region, meanwhile, resumed academic activities at the start of September, each following its own academic calendar.
Revised textbooks reach city, town, and village schools
The curriculum for the new academic year has been updated in response to scientific developments and changing educational needs, the report said. In total, 110 textbooks across different grade levels have been revised, with changes made to books written in six languages and dialects: Arabic, Badini Kurdish, English, Sorani Kurdish, Syriac, and Turkmen.
Approximately 20 million new textbooks have been printed and distributed to city, town, and village schools, in line with the number of enrolled students and ongoing needs.
Curriculum changes across key subjects
The updates span several subjects and grade levels. Chemistry has been revised for Grade 11, information technology for Grades 7 and 8, the Kurdish alphabet for Grade 1, and the Kurdish language for Grade 6. Mathematics has been updated for Grades 4, 5, and 6, and for Grade 11 in both the scientific and literary streams, while science has been revised for Grades 6, 8, and 9.
All of the changes were made by Ministry of Education educators, experts, and teachers, who took on the responsibility from external companies. According to the report, this produced significant design and revision cost savings for the KRG.
Teaching staff
The school teaching staff includes 107,426 permanent staff members, 31,219 employees, and 30,090 contracted staff, for a total of 176,735.
Building and renovating schools since 2019
The Ninth Cabinet has given particular attention to the education sector, including the construction and renovation of educational facilities. Between 10 July 2019 and September 2026, it completed 236 new schools and kindergartens, added 476 classrooms to existing schools, and renovated 2,650 school buildings across the Kurdistan Region's governorates and independent administrations.
By General Directorate of Education, Duhok recorded the highest number of new schools and kindergartens with 73, followed by Erbil with 58 and Sulaimani with 47. Garmian and Soran each recorded 17, followed by Zakho with 11, Halabja with five, and Kirkuk with none, bringing the total to 236.
Sulaimani also led in classrooms added with 132, ahead of Erbil with 123 and Duhok with 97. Raparin recorded 36 additional classrooms, followed by Halabja and Zakho with 34 each, Garmian with 13, Soran with seven, and Kirkuk with none, bringing the total to 476.
Sulaimani accounted for the most renovated school buildings as well, with 1,211, followed by Duhok with 697, Erbil with 258, and Raparin with 176. Renovation work also reached Soran with 86 buildings, Garmian with 76, Zakho with 72, Halabja with 45, and Kirkuk with 29, for a total of 2,650 renovated buildings.
Universities back in session
Academic activities have now resumed across all 16 public and 18 private universities. The higher education sector comprises 166 institutes and colleges and 893 departments. Public universities count 145,513 students and private universities 40,887, taught by 11,916 public lecturers and 1,939 private lecturers.
