Diyala returns over 10,000 dropout students to schools

Shafaq News- Diyala

More than 10,000 dropout and absentee students returned to classrooms this academic year, Diyala's Education Directorate revealed Monday.

Ammar al-Ubaidi, the directorate spokesperson, told Shafaq News that the returning students were distributed across primary, intermediate, and secondary schools throughout the province's various districts, pointing out that the reintegration was carried out through field campaigns involving local community leaders (mukhtars) and educational staff within residential areas, alongside direct outreach meetings with students' families. Awareness campaigns were also conducted in public spaces and through mosques.

Haytham Raed, a human rights activist, said that while the figures reflect a visible government effort, they represent only students who were successfully reached, adding that thousands more may remain outside the monitoring system.

“The dropout problem persists, and what has been achieved constitutes only a partial solution; some students' continued enrollment may be linked to improvements in their social, economic, or security conditions.”