Over 1.75 Million Students Begin New Academic Year Across Kurdistan Region

PUKMEDIA

School bells rang across the Kurdistan Region to mark the beginning of the new academic year.

More than 1.75 million students have begun the new academic year at 7,590 schools across the Kurdistan Region, including more than 150,000 pupils entering primary school for the first time.

Schools across Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok, Halabja and the autonomous administrations opened their doors on Sunday, marking the start of the 2026–2027 academic year.

In Erbil province, around 500,000 students are beginning the new school year, including 25,000 first-grade pupils. A total of 1,632 schools across the province have opened for the new academic year.

In Sulaymaniyah province, 410,383 students are starting the academic year at 1,502 public and private schools. Education authorities said preparations had been completed, with around 30,000 children enrolled in the first grade of primary school.

More than 426,000 students are beginning the school year in Duhok province. Of these, around 32,000 are primary school pupils. The province has a total of 1,521 public and private educational institutions.

In Halabja province, 28,000 students are starting the new academic year at 146 schools and kindergartens, including 2,300 first-grade pupils.

Kurdistan Region Minister of Education Alan Hama Saeed told media outlets that, of the more than 1.75 million students beginning the new academic year across the region, more than 150,000 are enrolled in the first grade of primary school, while around 20,000 are attending kindergarten.

According to the Kurdistan Region Ministry of Education’s 2026–2027 academic calendar, the first semester begins on 20 September 2026 and consists of 72 school days. The second semester will begin on 3 January 2027 and will run for 89 school days.



PUKMEDIA