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KRG closes American International School in Erbil
via KRG closes American International School in Erbil
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Education Ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government has decided to close down the American International School in Erbil, citing the lack of necessary scientific qualities and certification.
The ministry has also said it will not recognize the degrees of students who have graduated from the school. The head of the school has said the problem is personal and the ministry has dismissed the all the initiatives made by the school to address the scientific problems identified by the ministry.
KRG closes American International School in Erbil
By Shikar Ahmad 12 hours ago
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Education Ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government has decided to close down the American International School in Erbil, citing the lack of necessary scientific qualities and certification.
The ministry has also said it will not recognize the degrees of students who have graduated from the school. The head of the school has said the problem is personal and the ministry has dismissed the all the initiatives made by the school to address the scientific problems identified by the ministry.
Aramo is the father of one of the students who graduated from the school last year.
“My son and many other students have not been able to enroll at any university because the ministry of education wouldn’t stamp their certificates,” he said.
“The fate of the students is unclear. There are students who paid lots of tuition fees and studied for nine years in the school. This is a problem between the school and the education ministry, not a problem with students,” he added. “How was the school certified to enroll students if it didn’t have a license?”
Friad Kamal is a student who said he graduated from the school two years ago.
He is a university student now, but the university wouldn’t issue him his certificate.
“I study at the University of Kurdistan now, and my enrollment at the university was conditional upon submitting a diploma certified by the ministry of education. But the ministry hasn’t certified it yet,” he said.
“The ministry has said the school is neither international nor local. That is why we cannot obtain university certificates. Most students don’t have a degree. The school is neither closing down, nor is it getting its certificates recognized,” he added.
Sherko Kamal has been studying in the school for six years and is currently a sixth grader. His family pays $4,400 in tuition annually.
“Last year, my sister graduated from this school. But no university gave her a place to study because the ministry of education doesn’t recognize her degree,” Kamal said.
The American International School was opened in Erbil seven years ago.
Avin Hama-Amin is head of the school. She spoke to Rudaw about the issue.
“The school was built in 2011 and we have a license to work,” she said. “Moreover, we also have branches in the US, Canada and some other countries in the Middle East. We have no problems in other countries. But a problem has been made for us in the Kurdistan Region.
“I think the problem is personal. We have tried to present a solution to the problem, but the ministry of education has dismissed all the solutions we have presented. The ministry doesn’t want to see our documents.”
The school has nearly 400 students. She said the US consulate is a part of the negotiations.
Birzo Faysal Shakir is the ministry head of the department that supervises international schools in the Kurdistan Region.
“The profile of international schools was sent to us at the ministry four years ago and we have been publishing names of international schools in the region on the ministry’s page every year since then. This year, there are 23 schools in the Kurdistan Region, of which 19 are international and backed by scientific institutions…” he said.
He described the American International School as problematic.
“We have been for years informing the school to submit scientific accreditation obtained from a known institution. The school has not yet submitted this to us.”
The KRG ministry of education issued an order to shut down the American International School on June 26.
Cached Version from Rudaw: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:yieXoYo2by0J:www.rudaw.net/english/lifestyle/28082018+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=iq
American International School of Kurdistan Erbil
American International School of Kurdistan Erbil
Repulished from “The Kurdish Globe” https://www.thefreelibrary.com/School+struggles+to+meet+American+standards.-a0283490397
Rawaz Koyee–Erbil
Lack of proper teaching materials and other mishaps questioned
Teachers at local American International School criticize its lack of adherence to America’s education principles and standards.
An American flag flies over the two-storey school building while a picture of former US President George W. Bush and Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani hang on a wall inside. “American International School” is written on a huge blue panel, attracting passers-by on the main Gulan Street.
Following the US-led invasion and the economic boom Kurdistan Region has been witnessing over the last nine years, Kurdish parents seeking to provide better education for their children turned to private schools like the AIS that began flourishing in the Region.
Fourteen-year-old seventh-grader Zana Kakl’s parents pay more than $4,000US per year for what they assume is a higher quality of education at AIS so that Zana can realize “the Kurdish dream” that previous generations failed to achieve. “I want to learn English and improve my speaking skills,” said the seventh-grader in excellent English.
While the AIS receives funding from USAID, a number of American teachers who taught and still teach there are raising complaints about the school”s policies and teaching standards.
“In November, textbooks arrived but most were far too advanced for the level of English spoken by most students. No Social Studies books had been ordered, so I was forced to subscribe to an educational Website at my own expense in order to have reading materials for my students,” says Bette Hydrick, a former AIS teacher.
Hydrick began teaching at AIS in October 2011, making $2,500 per month. She resigned on in February 2012 and returned to the US.
A teacher requesting anonymity confirmed Hydrick’s statement. “The curriculum is supposed to be an American one which depends on textbooks. But AIS teachers have to depend on the Internet for teaching materials, which they must copy and print. That is not how you teach in America.” The teacher added, “The principal is ordering books that he wants but that will not work here.”
AIS opened its doors to Kurdish students in October 2011. Currently, some 300 students are enrolled in 10 grades, including kindergarten, and taught by eight American, one Canadian, one South American, and nine Kurdish teachers.
Alarming is the fact that, while the KRG Ministry of Education recommended that the school charge students $1,500 for enrollment, the school requires parents to pay $3,800, which is over twice that amount.
The Globe tried to reach the school principal, Azad Hawrami, for a comment; but he was unavailable.
Shna Shahab (a pseudonym) spoke to The Globe on behalf of the school administration. “We have already discussed the fee [$3,800] with the Ministry of Education and told them that the extra charge is for school expenses. We pay for teachers” salaries and books that come to us from the US. Their response was that if our excuse is rational and valid, then they will let us continue with the current fee.”
Regarding teachers’ complaints about the lack of proper schoolbooks, Shahab said that the school has its own books and curriculum. “We don’t have any shortages when it comes to books; the books are provided based on the number of students.”
Power outages
Hydrick and other teachers also complained about power shortages and poor cooking facilities. “From the end of October until I left Erbil on February 16, there were daily power outages from around 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and from midnight to 7:20 a.m. or 8:00 a.m. Sometimes the power was out for 15 hours. The teachers froze during the night. When these outages occurred, Hawrami would often leave the school and go to his sister’s house until the power came back on. When we complained, he’d often remark: “Well, this is Kurdistan,?”said Hydrick.
She recalled the first day she arrived at AIS. “I was quite shocked to see the accommodations in which I would be living for the next eight months. There was a refrigerator and a microwave but no cooking facilities. The mattress was thin and hard like a rock. I had back and leg aches the entire time I was there.”
Shahab said the American teachers make the shortage of power a bigger issue than it really is. “They are American and unaccustomed to power cuts. I believe it’s their right to complain about a shortage of power.”
Shahab did not comment further on the extended power outages, but a male employee who also chose to remain anonymous admitted that power outages do occur. He criticized the government for not keeping its promises to provide the school with continuous power.
The school building was originally constructed as a motel. “Even the building is inappropriate; the kids do not have enough room to play,” said Hydrick.
Copyright 2006 – 2012 The Kurdish Globe
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The massacre of Turkmens in Kerkuk on 14th July 1959.
The massacre of Turkmens in Kerkuk on 14th July 1959.
Excerpt from “Among the Others – Encounters with the forgotten Turkmen of Iraq”
by Scott Taylor*
(posted with the authorization of the author)
By the time King Faisal II conducted the national census in 1957, the majority of the Turkmen population was already feeling oppressed by the Baghdad authorities. Many of the Turkmen who participated in the process filed false returns by listing themselves as Arabs to avoid further persecution. Prior to and during the census, leading Turkmen activists were seized and interrogated by the police. Gathering places frequented primarily by Turkmen nationalists, such as cafés and clubs, were either shut down or kept under surveillance in an effort to intimidate them. The efforts were largely successful as the official census record shows just 137,800 registered Turkmen.
However, the Turkmen were not the only ones…
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A Collective Consciousness and TJP Production 