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University students are let down by low standards
Research conducted by assistant professor Dr Sleman Jaffar Mohamed at the University of Erbil sheds critical light on the standard of higher education provided by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Mohammed has completed a thesis on the “evaluation of the standard of higher education in the KRG “ and concluded that, using international criteria, it is operating to the lowest standard.
This is no surprise. Each new KRG cabinet has, for its own political reasons, done nothing to improve the situation in higher education and only made things worse.
Most research conducted by universities in the south of Kurdistan has been pointless. Instead of this, as a rule research should be designed to be of some social and economic benefit for local people. However, Mohammad indicates that Government-sponsored research at the universities is not conducted using scientific methodology.
He also says that all our private and state universities have been ruined by direct or indirect interference from political parties.
One of his main recommendations is for the two ruling political parties to keep out of the universities and leave them for the professionals to run. He also recommends a change in the universities’ style of management.
There are no resources for scientists and when there are any, they are put in the wrong hands. Pick the health officials in any city in Kurdistan, you will see they mostly have minimal experience with no qualifications, other than hanging the photos of Barzani or Talabani above their heads.
Up until now, most universities don’t even have simple gas burners used in biology or chemistry labs, something even the poorest african countries have had for decades. What the foreign aid organizations built has not changed. What Saddam built has still remained the same buildings without even changing the paint. But when it comes to press releases and traveling to USA and Europe, they all have mouths bigger than an ocean and to a stranger they may seem like they have built a whole new generation of technology.
Just look at the injustices of PDK and PUK in dealing with international education scholarships and you will see what’s wrong with Kurdistan.
Well what you expect from totalitarian parties .Even worse than Baath and Saddam , It is doubtful that there are any independent individual in Kurdistan . All the university staff are either members of KDP or PUK . It is far more important for KDP to parade staff every now and again to visit tombs of Mala musfta and co. in Barzan and show pseudo allegiance to the family than promoting genuine research . Researchers are human being with needs and no one dismiss easy money that comes with hanging photos and citing slogans . Universities are merely places to of teaching undergraduates of how ”great” masood and Jaal is , NOT research bodies !!
In short , everything in Kurdistan is family business from primary schools to higher education to health institute to police and militia to oil and business and so on and so forth . In ‘the system’
There is an army of parasites who are prepared to do anything to stay on KDP/PUK payroll .
The amount of damage these two criminal families causing kurdish society in the short and long run is massive .
But why :” What Saddam built has still remained the same buildings without even changing the paint.” reflects the kurdish parties insecurities and preferring to amass wealth illegally than providing genuine services to society .
Considering where the wealth of the region is, I found astonishingly inlligence-free policy or in plain english stupid policy that all that it has to do with the oil industry, prospecting for oil etc in Kurdistan needs experts from abroad.
Learn from countries like Norway, before they found oil in the North Sea the only oil they knew about was of cod oil for your health and now they are more or less they own experts in exploring and developing oil. Where in Kurdistan can I learn something about oil, gas etc?
The deficit of kurdish educated technicians for oil exploration is difficult to understand.