Iraqi Schools Tap Parents for Supplies

Iraqi schools, short of money and alarmed by decreasing enrollment, on Saturday began their academic year under new rules requiring parents to return their children to classrooms and pay for their own school supplies.

Iraq once provided free books, pens and other supplies from kindergarten through university level, and it boasted one of the highest literacy rates in the Arab world.

Though classes are still free through university level, state schools now rely on parents to meet many costs as the country struggles under nearly 11 years of U.N.-enforced economic sanctions.

Iraq can import educational supplies under the U.N. “oil-for-food” humanitarian program, but the United Nations says the government did not place a single order between January and June.

Iraq says previous orders for supplies were refused because of U.N. concerns that the materials could be used to make weapons.

In the academic year before the sanctions were imposed for Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, the government spent $230 million on education. Annual spending during the last six years has averaged $23 million.

The economic situation is forcing many children--some as young as 9--to drop out of school. The country has about 5 million students.

The Education Ministry requires families to enroll children in schools or face penalties ranging from fines to jail sentences.