Iraqi children return to school
©UNICEF Video

By Claire Hajaj

AMMAN, Jordan, 9 October 2007— The first day back at school for students at Baghdad’s Al-Amal Primary School is a reason to celebrate. Children squeal with excitement as they see old friends. The playground, so bare and empty over the summer holidays, has filled with colour and sound.

Last year was one of the most difficult in recent memory for for students here. Lessons were cut short by violence. Many teachers left. Classrooms and washrooms fell into disrepair and water was cut off. But this year, students and teachers have reason to hope.

Tamarra, 11, a serious-minded sixth grader, knows what it’s like to be hungry for an education. “I love my school,” she says. “But last year we could not always come to class because of the explosions in my area. My mother was afraid for me, so I missed many lessons.”

A desperate struggle to learn

The first day in the classroom is a small miracle for Tamarra and her family, who still remember how hard she struggled to learn during the past year.

Child-friendly classrooms and school materials are a rarity in Iraq.

“Our difficulties were huge,” she says. “Continuous power cuts made it hard for us to do homework or prepare for our exams. There was no light so I could not see to study my books. And the weather was so very hot, without any air conditioning or fan. Many nights I did not sleep and then I was too tired to go to school the next day. It was terrible.”

School facilities were another problem for students – many have deep scars from years of neglect and conflict.

‘Totally unfit for learning’

“Our children had to study in conditions that are totally unfit for learning,” says Al-Amal School Headmistress Hala Hani. “There was no water and little electricity. And we couldn’t maintain a regular teaching schedule for even 10 days at a time, because so many students and teachers were leaving. Everyone was upset and frightened. It was chaotic.”

The toll on learning, not just in Baghdad but across the country, is reflected in last year’s exam results. Iraq’s Ministry of Education reports that only 28 per cent of all Iraqi 17-year-olds took their final exams this summer. And of those that did take the exams, only 40 per cent passed.

The toll that conflict took on education is reflected in the fact that only 28 per cent of all Iraqi 17-year-olds took their final exams this summer.

Restoring classrooms and hope

While conditions facing many Iraqi students are still grave, help arrived over the summer. UNICEF has sponsored a school restoration programme, through a special Integrated Community-Based Initiative for Children, which aims to rebuild Iraq’s essential community services.

Tamarra noticed a difference immediately.

“When I came back to school I saw that we had running water to drink,” she says. “We also have new toilets and new desks. We have balls and sports equipment for the physical education classes, and art supplies and school materials for the students. These things make a big difference to us, and they help our performance and our pride in the school.”

A victory for Iraqi families

“Every child in school is a victory for Iraqi families,” says UNICEF Iraq Chief of Education, Learning and Development Mette Nordstrand. “With so much uncertainly around them, a well-functioning classroom is their best source of hope.”

Tamarra echoes this feeling. She believes that if she stays at school, she can become a doctor in a more stable future. “My mother’s education has inspired me. I am determined to come through this painful time and succeed so we can grow up to be strong people,” she says.

Watch the Video in RealMedia Format

Video: Iraqi Children celebrate their return to school

© UNICEF/NYHQ2007-2319/Michael Kamber
Children attend class in a school in disrepair and has only the most basic supplies.

By Hind-Lara Mango

AMMAN, Jordan, 10 September 2007 – The Ikzaz family has been living in Jordan since 2004, when they fled Iraq as a result of ongoing violence there. As refugees, they are sustained only by the goodwill of their neighbour, Um Jum’a. Without her help, the Ikzaz family would have no food, clothes or shelter.

“I can’t work, or I will be deported,” says Iraqi-born Armash Ikzaz, a father of five. “I can’t afford to buy my children school books. We are lucky that they are in school.”

It costs about $70 dollars to enroll each non-Jordanian child in school and an additional $15 dollars to purchase school books. The Ikzaz children received some books through the goodwill of Um Jum’a, who collects money from families to help her Iraqi tenants. Still, the family cannot afford all of them.

“They took the books away from me and told me when I could pay I would have them back,” says Rana, 12.

The children wake up in the early hours of the morning and walk for 45 minutes to reach school. “We dread the coming months when the kids will have to walk to school in the merciless rain and bone-wrenching cold,” says Ms. Jum’a.

Help with textbooks and school fees

Recently, the Government of Jordan agreed to allow displaced Iraqi children to enrol in school here. There are about 750,000 Iraqis in the country, and just under 20,000 of the children attended Jordanian schools last year.

UNICEF and its partners have been supporting the government’s decision and aim to get an additional 50,000 Iraqi children into school this year. UNICEF is currently working with the Ministry of Education on a plan to supply Iraqi children with textbooks and to pay the school fees of children whose families cannot afford to do so.

However, Jordan’s already overcrowded classrooms cannot accommodate a new influx of students. In response, UNICEF is providing the Ministry of Education with technical support in order to help implement double-shift schools and rent additional buildings to accommodate the students. Teachers will also be trained to provide Iraqi children with psychosocial support.

Ikhlas, 13, lost several years of education after fleeing her home in Iraq. “We are happy to be in school,” she says, “but I feel embarrassed in front of the other students because I can’t buy all the books.”

For now, Ikhlas and the rest of her family are waiting patiently, hoping that their plight will improve.

© UNICEF Jordan/2007/ Al-Moughrabi