Baghdad neglects Kurdish education in Kirkuk: Official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An education official in Kirkuk has criticized the Iraqi government for failing to support Kurdish education in the province, arguing that it is their "legitimate right" for Baghdad to provide financial compensation and salaries because the Iraqi government takes “all” of its revenues.

“The [Kuridstan] Regional Government (KRG) has been providing salaries, books, and necessities of the schools in Kirkuk [province],” Rauf Saadullah, head of the Kurdish education supervision unit in Kirkuk, told Rudaw’s Arez Khalid on Monday.

He said: “Kirkuk’s revenues, oil, and other [sources] are all taken by the Iraqi government.”

“It is our legitimate right to have our financial compensation and salaries covered by the Iraqi government,” he added.

Kirkuk is a multi-ethnic city home to Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen. The city was under joint administration before 2014 when Kurds took full control after Iraqi forces withdrew in the face of the Islamic State (ISIS). Kurds held the city until October 16, 2017, when Iraqi forces retook control and expelled Kurdish security forces following the KRG’s independence referendum.

On Wednesday, the second deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Shakhawan Abdullah blamed the Iraqi finance ministry for delaying the disbursement of the salaries and a misunderstanding that some employees in Kirkuk receive salaries from both governments.

Saadullah said the Iraqi government has “neglected” its responsibilities in the province by not supporting Kurdish education; however, Baghdad has supported Turkmen and Arabic education.

Some civil servants and teachers in Kirkuk are employees of the KRG, which has paid their salaries, while Baghdad is responsible for others.

Baghdad has paid the salaries of Kurdistan Region’s civil servants for the first six months of this year, albeit with delays. The Iraqi government has pointed to repeated problems such as duplicate names in the payroll list, as well as issues with names on the Kirkuk payroll in July. 

The Iraqi government owes Kirkuk’s Kurdish education system, according to Saadullah: teacher salaries, school funding, and land provisions for the teachers because it is a standard practice for both Erbil and Baghdad to grant land to civil servants in other provinces.

Kirkuk's disputed status is compounded by a legacy of Arabization under the Baath regime, which displaced Kurds and gave their lands to Arab settlers. Despite compensation under Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, many Arab settlers have refused to leave, complicating the potential outcomes of a census that could determine whether the city falls under KRG or Iraqi federal control.

In January 2023, Sana Hidayat Garmiyani, director general of Kurdish education at Iraq’s education ministry, said that Kurdish education in the disputed areas is set to start following the Iraqi education ministry’s curriculum, with the project estimated to take a few years. Thousands of Kurdish teachers are expected to be transferred to the federal government’s payroll under the agenda of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani.

Story background updated at 5:54 p.m. on September 3