|
Iraq has compulsory and free schooling from the children
is 6 to 11 years. The education system has been greatly
expanded since the 1970s, but war and the economic blockade
have created major problems. The primary school is 6 years
old and approx. 93% start in primary school. High school is
6 years old. 33% of the age group went to high school in
1999 (37% of the students were women).
About. 14% of young people take higher education. The
state is responsible for all education from kindergarten to
university. In 1978, it was enacted that all illiterate
persons had to enroll in an educational program. Many years
of war and other practical problems have limited the
literacy campaign. See TOPSCHOOLSINTHEUSA for TOEFL, ACT, SAT testing locations and high school codes in Iraq.
Over 60% of people over the age of 15 are illiterate,
over 75% of women cannot read and write. As a result of the
regime change in the country in 2003, extensive reforms have
been implemented in the education sector.
Iraq was the cradle of Sumerian civilization 6,000 years
ago and housed developed communities such as Akkad, Babylon,
Syria and Caldea for centuries. Mesopotamia (Greek: "between
rivers") was on the route through which the Asia-Europe
campaigns went. This included the Persians, Greeks, Romans
and Byzantines.
After the Arabs conquered the area in the 7th century
(see Saudi Arabia), Mesopotamia became the center of a huge
empire. 100 years later, the Abbas dynasty decided to move
the capital from Damascus to the east, and Caliph al-Mansur
built the new capital, Baghdad, by the banks of the Tigris.
For three centuries, this "1001 night" city was the center
of a new culture.
Since the Greeks, the Mediterranean area had not
experienced similar flourishing of arts and sciences. But
the empire was too vast to hold together, so when Harum
al-Raschid died, it began to fall apart. The African
provinces were lost, the entire area north and east of
Persia became independent under the Tahirs, and the Caliphs
were therefore increasingly forced to rely on armies of
slaves or Sudanese and Turkish camp troops to maintain
control over a land that remained less. When the Mongols
killed the last caliph in Baghdad in 1258, the caliphate was
already politically dead. After Genghis Khan conquered the
area and ravaged agriculture, it fundamentally changed and
was followed by a number of states led by Ottomans, Mongols,
Turkmen, Tartars or Kurds. Afghanistan) caused great
instability in the fertile crescent. In the 14th
century, Timur Lenk made an initial attempt to unify the
country, but it did not succeed until 16th century Ottoman
leadership. The subsequent period was characterized by
relative political-military calm, which allowed the
irrigation canals to be rebuilt and the cultivated areas
expanded.
World War 1. English colonialism
In the early 20th century, the movements for "Arab
rebirth" were also very active in Iraq. They paved the
ground for the great uprising that shook the Ottoman Empire
during World War I (see also Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria).
But the English were also present, and they were interested
in expanding their influence in the area. However,
expectations of independence when the Turks were first
defeated were disappointed when the Soviet power published
the secret Sykes-Picot Treaty of 1916, according to which
England and France intended to divide the Arab world between
them. Faisal - the son of Sheikh Hussain - had declared
himself king of Syria and occupied Damascus, but according
to the treaty, this land belonged to France, which had
promised nothing to the Arabs, and Faisal was thrown out of
the Syrian capital by military force. The formalization of
the British mandate over Mesopotamia led to an uprising for
independence in 1920.
1932 formal independence
In 1921, the emir emir Faisal ibn Hussain was appointed
king of Iraq as compensation for his humiliation in Syria.
In 1930, General Nuri as-Said was appointed prime minister.
He signed an alliance agreement with the English, paving the
way for the country's formal independence on October 3,
1932. However, Iraq was already spun deep into the
capitalist world economy. The country's most important
resources - the oil - had been extracted by British, North
American, Dutch and French companies since the 1920s.
Agriculture was transformed to meet Europe's needs and the
predominantly collective (tribal) use of land was broken
down in favor of private land ownership in few hands. It was
harsh on the rural population, which in many places
revolted.Egypt, Syria and Iraq themselves were sharply
distant.
|
