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Once seen as a model, Iraq struggles to rebuild its education system
Despite the brutality of its former regime, Iraq was once seen as a model of education in the Arab world. The country boasted some of the region's highest literacy rates, justifying the Arabic saying, "The Egyptians write, the Lebanese publish, the Iraqis read."
Today, up to one-quarter of Iraq's adults are illiterate.
Years of war and instability have left their mark. Rather than focus on education, many Iraqis give priority to basic survival, while a decline in the skills of the country's teachers has taken its toll on those students who do seek to learn.