Iraqi families are preparing to welcome the new school year, amid bustling libraries and stores selling government school uniforms.
The preparations remain a cherished annual tradition for parents and an eagerly anticipated moment for children. At the same time, school administrations are preparing buildings and distributing curricula to students.
Yet, amid all these preparations, something new is set to accompany students — or grow alongside them: artificial intelligence. Today, AI is no longer simply another tool added to educational curricula or a new teaching method. It is increasingly shaping the structural future of education for generations to come.
Many questions remain surrounding the growing presence of artificial intelligence. Will the schoolbag eventually disappear, replaced by an iPad or mobile phone? And will students’ ability to think remain unaffected as AI rapidly enters their minds and becomes a tool for completing homework and finding answers?
In Iraq, AI began entering private schools around seven years ago. However, its integration into public education has been slow, remaining largely experimental and limited, for more than a year, to just two schools — one on the Karkh side and the other on the Rusafa side.
This year, however, the Iraqi Ministry of Education announced in a statement seen by Annahar that it had opened registration for a free summer program focused on programming and artificial intelligence for primary and middle school students. The program offers simplified, practical training under the supervision of specialized educational groups.
Karim Al-Sayyed, spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Education, told Annahar that AI has begun to be incorporated into school curricula, with some subjects containing references to its use. There are also schools for gifted students, while a dedicated AI section has been opened in vocational schools.
However, the project requires infrastructure, substantial preparatory stages, and significant financial resources before it can be fully launched, meaning more time is needed.
“However, as a ministry, we have taken initial steps such as those mentioned, adding this aspect to extracurricular activities and assignments. Our plan for the coming years is to move towards digitalizing curricula, and certainly, AI will be part of that, especially since the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has opened a department specializing in AI at one of the colleges. The students entering this college will come from the outputs of the Ministry of Education.”
During an Annahar tour of a private school in Baghdad that incorporates AI into its curriculum and teaching methods, the school’s owner, Abdul Nasser, said the idea of combining traditional education with AI emerged from the belief that traditional education is no longer effective for today’s students.
According to Abdul Nasser, education now needs more convincing tools than traditional methods such as books and notebooks, as today’s students learn from what is presented directly in front of them rather than from detailed written material in a book.
“Overall, we aim to keep up with the global education sector, although we are considered to be lagging in this area,” he said. “As for teaching staff, we need a larger number of teachers who are prepared to teach students everything related to AI.”
In general, Iraq’s education sector still requires extensive work and development. Schools that support AI, keep pace with modern education, and teach students in multiple languages are largely concentrated in the private sector, where annual fees can be extremely costly for a single student.
This creates a sharp divide from the reality of public education, which remains entirely different.
To this day, schools in Iraq’s southern villages and governorates still lack some of the most basic educational necessities for students, from ventilation fans to, at the very least, suitable seating areas.
As the new school year begins, this special Annahar dossier explores the changing face of education across Lebanon and the Arab world — from rising back-to-school costs and family pressures to artificial intelligence, technology, and children’s emotional well-being. What does it really take to be ready for school today? Read our special dossier:
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