ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two schools in Sulaimani province, which were severely damaged by a recent flooding, have yet to be repaired, leaving approximately 850 students out of school, a local official told Rudaw on Saturday.
Chamchamal district was among the hardly-hit areas in last month’s flash floods in the Kurdistan Region. The flooding killed at least five people and damaged more than 2,200 homes across the Region, according to official figures.
Lawan and Gashbin schools - teaching 350 and 500 students, respectively - were among schools damaged by the natural disaster.
“After nearly a month-long suspension of the education process in Chamchamal, classes will resume tomorrow. There are no remaining obstacles and schooling will return to normal; however, due to the extensive damage sustained by schools, renovation work at two schools has not yet been completed and they will need another week to ten days,” Chamchamal mayor Aso Bakr told Rudaw on Saturday, referring to Lawan and Gashbin schools.
“Both schools suffered severe damage and still require time before they are ready to resume classes,” he added.
At least nine schools in Chamchamal were damaged by the flooding, the head of the district's education directorate told Rudaw last month.
During a visit to one of the affected schools in Sulaimani province last month, Kurdistan Region Education Minister Alan Hama Saeed said the ministry would work to “bring the schools in Chamchamal back into service as soon as possible through renovation and the provision of study supplies.”
Beyond damaging school and residential buildings, the floodwaters also ruined students’ books, classroom materials, and furniture.
“Water entered people’s homes, and a number of students no longer have their books,” Saeed said, adding that replacements would be distributed “quickly and according to capacity.”
First-term examinations, originally set to begin on December 15, have been postponed due to the flooding. The minister said the Sulaimani education directorate has been authorized to set a new date, with exams now expected to be held in early January.
A ten-day New Year holiday ended on Sunday.
Solin Hamadamin contributed to this article from Erbil.