Basra Human Rights Commission warns of education collapse

Shafaq News/ The situation of the public education sector threatens the future of thousands of students, especially those unable to afford private schooling, the Basra office of Iraq’s High Commission for Human Rights warned on Friday.

The Office Director Mahdi Al-Tamimi told Shafaq News Agency that the commission, in line with its legal and humanitarian responsibilities, is bringing the matter to the attention of the Basra Provincial Council, urging immediate and serious action to address the “systemic failures and lack of strategic vision in the education sector.”

He noted that private education now dominates Basra’s educational landscape at both school and university levels, while public institutions face repeated annual setbacks. This trend, Al-Tamimi warned, deepens social inequality and deprives many students of their right to a quality education.

The commission’s official also called on the provincial council to make “bold and responsible” decisions to safeguard what remains of public education, including a thorough review of institutional conditions in collaboration with relevant executive authorities.