http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/2d17fad52e45853ef2f759780c45ca82.htm BAGHDAD, 28 August 2007 (IRIN) - The Iraqi Ministry of Education has warned of the possible low attendance of pupils at schools in the coming year, saying it expects at least a 15 percent drop compared to previous years. Parents have blamed the government for the poor protection of their children and many have opted to keep them at home.
"We are trying to encourage families to take their children to school as there has been a continuous decrease in attendance in the past four years and this has seriously affected pupils' performance," Leila Abdallah, a senior official at the Ministry of Education, said.
"We have enhanced policing at the school gates of most schools but families are still scared to send their children to school. This might seriously affect their future," she added. "I don't blame them for trying to protect their children but we have to start changing the actual situation of violence by teaching pupils how to build a better Iraq."
Parents have also been irked by poor examinations results in the past academic year.
According to Leila, there has been a 54 percent increase in exam failure rates compared to previous years. She said many students had not sat the last exams as they had been forced by violence to flee their homes for safer areas.
Also, few schools have offered extra preparatory classes to students who have to repeat their exams because teachers are too afraid to leave their homes.
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