Students outraged as Iraq's Ministry of Education announces last-minute exams

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Students across Iraq have expressed outrage after the Ministry of Education announced mid-year exams only four days in advance. 

Exams were originally set for February 20, but were postponed to an unspecified date due to the introduction of new coronavirus restrictions last month. 

On Tuesday, the ministry announced exams will be held for all school students on Saturday. 

Students “should always be ready for exams," the ministry statement said.

Jaafar Al-Kutubi, from Baghdad, has three children who will all be sitting exams this weekend, despite a complete lockdown on Saturday.

"I do not know how I will be able to drive my kids to their schools tomorrow with the lockdown. Even if there is an exception, moving will not be easy; the ministry decision is chaotic." Kutubi told Rudaw English on Friday.
 
Suzan Nasser, 16, said that the ministry's announcement shocked her and her classmates.
 
"I'm panicking and I feel anxious; I received the exam schedule from my school just last night."

Schools were closed for most of last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. They first reopened in November, and  mostly moved to e-learning in February. 
 
Iraq recorded 5,443 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, bringing the total number of registered cases to 779,458.