The representative of the supreme religious authority, Sheikh Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalai, revealed the reasons behind low education levels in Iraq.
Al-Karbalai said in the Friday’s sermon held at the holy shrine of Imam Hussein "pbuh" on July 19, 2019, that "The education process is a product of an integrated system of three factors, as the first one of them is individuals, which is composed of the student, school teachers, and the other members of educational institution, while the second factor is the educational institution itself, such as family, education directorates, the ministry of education, and both of legislative and executive authorities related to the educational process, as for the third factor, it's represented by the curriculum accredited in this process."
"Among the reasons led to the decline of education level in Iraq, are included but not limited to the lack of development of education personnel," he noted, pointing out that "Unlike us, many other countries have witnessed a continuous development to their education systems, which led their cadres to rise up with the new educational curricula."
He added that "One of the reasons behind this issue, is the lack of stability in the educational curricula and the repeated changes in their contents, as well as the difficulty of some of those curricula," explaining that developing the educational curricula is important and positive thing to do, but it is necessary to keep in mind their compatibility to the student's mental level, in addition to the provision of the required tools so the student can keep up with the new curricula."
The representative of the supreme religious authority criticized the lack of respect for teaching cadres and the violations practiced against them by some people, indicating that "The society used to be respectful and grateful for the teacher, regardless of their social status," indicating that "The situation has changed a lot recently as some categories of society do not show respect to the teacher, not to mention the cases of physical assaults against teachers or other educational staff within schools, which leads the teacher to underrate the value of knowledge and education as a profession."
Al-Karbalai called on officials in the Iraqi government and related parties to allocate the necessary funds for establishing new school buildings in order to meet the current shortfall and to provide a suitable atmosphere for students," while addressing at the same time, the officials in the educational process, saying "The educational process, knowledge, and the student, are divine gifts entrusted to you, and it is necessary to give those gifts the effort they deserve."
"It is important for families to pay more attention to the student, as some families do not care enough about the educational level of their kids as well as to immunize them of things that harm their education levels such as modern video games and social media."
He also highlighted the psychological frustration felt by many students due to the lack of employment after graduation, indicating that "After tremendous effort and many years of studying, the graduate cannot find a job opportunity that commensurate with their education specialty, so their fate will be either to unemployment or to a poor profession that degrades his dignity and social position, which causes the students to feel that the study is useless, as long as they cannot find a job suited to their diplomas."
Sheikh Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalai added that "It is hoped that the concerned parties will take a greater interest in the industrial and commercial fields and giving the private sector an opportunity to contribute to the provision of job opportunities for graduates," calling also on families to urge their children to continue studying and to look at the university diploma in two ways, as an opportunity for a decent career, and as a light to the right path and an important means of raising the way of life and thinking.