Trapped between two systems: Iraqi students in Turkiye face diploma deadlock

Shafaq News

12 hours ago

Shafaq News – Baghdad/Ankara
A growing number of Iraqi students educated in Turkish schools face an uncertain future, as Baghdad continues to refuse recognition of their diplomas—leaving hundreds caught between two incompatible education systems and a harsh economic reality.
In recent months, a wave of Iraqi families has begun returning from Turkiye due to soaring living costs. But for many, hopes of reintegration have collided with the Education Ministry's refusal to equate diplomas from Turkish public schools and universities. The result: years of study, and in some cases entire careers, at risk of being invalidated.
'My family wants to return, but I can't go back,' said Wasan Rabah, a recent engineering graduate in Istanbul. 'We used to study at an Iraqi school, paying high fees, until it was abruptly shut down by Turkish authorities. I had no option but to complete my studies in a Turkish public university—only to learn Iraq does not recognize my degree.'
She is one of hundreds of Iraqi students forced to choose between costly private Iraqi schools abroad or local public education systems that may not be recognized back home.
Hassan Abdul-Ghani, a high school student in Istanbul, recounted a similar dilemma. 'The Ministry of Higher Education publishes a list of accredited foreign universities every year, but the Ministry of Education doesn't do the same for schools,' he told Shafaq News. 'We had no guidance and ended up in Turkish schools because Iraqi private schools were too expensive.'
'In Istanbul, rent, utilities, and food are all becoming unaffordable,' said Nuran Ali, mother of a university student. 'We were ready to return, but how can I throw away years of my daughter's hard work and the pride we feel in her achievements, only for Iraq to reject her degree?'
The Iraqi Ministry of Education maintains that diplomas issued by unlicensed foreign schools cannot be validated. 'Many students unfortunately studied in institutions not authorized by us. This issue has been discussed at length within the Ministry' said Ministry spokesman Karim al-Sayyid.
According to al-Sayyid, regulations strictly prohibit approving documents from any educational entity not formally recognized by the Ministry.
Iraqi students in Turkiye are enrolled across a patchwork of institutions—Turkish public schools, private Iraqi schools, and other Arab-language schools catering to expatriate communities. Many of these operate without formal accreditation and charge high tuition fees.
Education expert and international accreditation specialist Dr. Maytham Jabbar Taha criticized the Iraqi Ministry for what he described as a politically tinted and inconsistent policy. 'The Ministry does not recognize the Turkish education system due to personal bias and bureaucratic rigidity,' he told Shafaq News. 'This affects over 800 Iraqi students. Most of them attended Turkish public schools after Iraqi private schools were shut down by the Turkish government for lacking proper structure or licensing.'
Taha emphasized that many of these students have now become engineers and doctors—yet their degrees hold no value in Iraq. 'There's no way back for these families,' he said. 'They're stuck.'
The core differences between Turkish and Iraqi systems further complicate equivalency. While Iraq's primary education lasts six years, it's only four in Turkiye. Turkiye adds a year to both middle and high school, and its university admissions rely on the YKS national exam—unlike Iraq's baccalaureate-based system.
'This is a deeply complex issue,' Zuleikha Elias al-Bakkar, a member of Parliament's Education Committee, told Shafaq News. 'The Education Ministry will not certify documents from schools it hasn't licensed. I've spoken at length with the Minister about this, but their position remains unchanged—they simply don't recognize Turkiye's education system.'
Al-Bakkar said she visited Ankara in recent months to raise the issue with Turkish officials and also discussed it with Turkiye's ambassador to Iraq. 'Preliminary data suggest there are between 1,000 and 1,500 Iraqi students currently studying in Turkiye,' she said.