Iraqi Kurdistan lecturers target 78K permanent jobs in 2027 budget
Shafaq News- Al-Sulaymaniyah
Representatives of non-permanent lecturers in Iraqi Kurdistan are seeking permanent government posts for about 78,000 educators through the 2027 federal budget, warning that delayed payments could disrupt the coming school year.
At a press conference on Thursday, lecturers’ representative Mohammed Kamal said a delegation had met the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) ministries of Education and Finance before traveling to Baghdad for talks with parliament’s Finance Committee, political blocs, and Kurdish ministers in the federal government.
The KRG Finance Ministry had asked Baghdad to place the lecturers on the permanent payroll, he added. Finance Committee members supported including the issue in the 2027 budget, while political blocs the delegation met pledged to back the request during debate and voting.
Read more: Iraq moves to results-based budgeting in 2027
The lecturers proposed three options. The first would place them on the permanent payroll if the 2027 budget also grants permanent posts to lecturers in central and southern Iraq. Under the second, the KRG would continue paying about 400,000 to 500,000 Iraqi dinars (roughly $305 to $382) per lecturer each month, while the federal government covers the remaining amount, and the third would use around 12,000 vacant teaching posts created by retirements and deaths over the past two years.
Lecturers have still not received their July payments, Kamal cautioned, warning that continued delays could leave some unable to “cover transportation and other work costs,” putting regular attendance during the new academic year at risk.
The 2027 budget carries added weight because Iraq has operated without a full national budget for two years, relying on the one-twelfth spending mechanism to cover salaries and essential expenditures. The Iraqi government plans to introduce program- and performance-based budgeting with the 2027 spending plan.
Read more: How the 1/12 rule reduced state finances to salary payments
