Shafaq News/Every morning before sunrise, Um Rukaya (pseudonym) leaves her home in Babilprovince and embarks on a long journey to the rural school where she teaches.The bus fare alone costs her 10,000 Iraqi dinars a day—nearly all of hermonthly salary of 300,000 dinars (about $230) disappears just to covertransportation.
By the timeshe returns home, exhausted, she wonders how she will afford food, rent, oreven the simplest necessities. Like many newly hired contract teachers in Iraq,she is trapped in a cycle of financial hardship, earning wages that barelysustain her, let alone allow her to build a stable future.
Thestruggles of teachers like Um Rukaya highlight a growing crisis in Iraq’seducation sector. Newly appointed contract teachers, particularly thoseassigned to rural areas, are finding it nearly impossible to make ends meet.Despite their vital role in shaping the country’s future, their salaries remaindisproportionately low compared to the rising cost of living.
Calls forsalary increases have gained traction among lawmakers, but so far, no concretesolutions have been implemented.
The issuehas drawn attention from members of parliament, including Joad Al-Ghazali ofthe Parliamentary Education Committee. He described teachers as a criticalworkforce essential to Iraq’s development and urged both the central and localgovernments to take immediate action.
According toAl-Ghazali, newly hired teachers earn around 300,000 dinars per month, anamount that is also offered to recent hires under the food security program.However, none of these teachers have been granted permanent positions, and manystruggle with wages that do not exceed 600,000 dinars ($459.3). Those workingin remote villages face an even greater challenge, as transportation costs eataway at their already meager earnings.
For some,the financial strain has become unbearable. Al-Ghazali recounted the story of ahighly educated teacher with a master’s degree who abandoned the professionaltogether, taking up manual labor and municipal work to survive. Many othersare considering the same path, despite their passion for teaching. Thegovernment, however, attributes the low salaries to revenue shortages, leavingthousands of young educators uncertain about their future.
Increasingfunding for the Ministry of Education is seen as a key step toward resolvingthis crisis. Mahasen Hamdoun, a member of the Parliamentary FinancialCommittee, believed that a salary increase for teachers could be achievedthrough higher financial allocations in the education budget. However, with the2025 budget still pending submission to parliament, no immediate relief is insight. “Once reviewed, lawmakers will assess whether the government has thefinancial capacity to raise teachers' salaries while maintaining overall fiscalstability.”
The delay inbudget approval only deepens the frustration among teachers. The 2025 budget isexpected to reach parliament after Eid al-Fitr, but no official date has beenset. Meanwhile, attempts by Shafaq News to obtain a statement from the Ministryof Education yielded little response. Ministry spokesperson Karim Al-Sayedsimply stated that salary levels are not determined by the ministry itself.
Despitethese ongoing struggles, the government has made promises to support educators.Prime Minister Mohammad Shia Al-Sudani recently reiterated his commitment tothe education sector, announcing plans to distribute 10,000 residential plotsto teachers as part of a broader initiative to allocate 44,000 plots inAl-Muthanna province. However, many teachers remain skeptical, pointing outthat similar promises have been made in the past without being fulfilled.
Beyond lowsalaries, Iraq’s education sector suffers from chronic underfunding. A May 2024report by Education International revealed that only 5.7% of the federal budgetis allocated to education. This underinvestment has led to overcrowdedclassrooms, deteriorating school buildings, and a lack of basic teachingresources, making the job even more challenging for those who remain in theprofession.
Thefinancial struggles of teachers are tied to Iraq’s broader economic challenges.The country’s fiscal system relies heavily on oil revenues, which account fornearly 90% of state income. This dependency makes salary paymentsunpredictable, especially when oil prices fluctuate or political instabilitydisrupts government operations.
Salarydistribution issues have also been particularly severe in the Kurdistan Region,where budget disputes between Baghdad and Erbil have caused frequent delays inpayments. These disputes have fueled widespread protests, with teachers incities like Al-Sulaymaniyah staging sit-ins outside the United Nationsheadquarters. Their demands included immediate salary payments, overdue jobpromotions, and long-term reforms to prevent future delays.