Publisher's Synopsis
Over the last few decades of war and sanctions, Iraq has suffered great losses in death and damages. Harm has not been inflicted only on persons, communities, communications, institutions and land; but equal and perhaps greater damage has been the outcome of the lost development opportunities: stagnated communities, uneducated children, adolescents and youth, neglected land, accelerating mortality rates, and the construction that did not take place.The nation has also witnessed an unprecedented devastation and a near-to-complete break-down of the education system. The prevailing state-of-affairs of higher education is disheartening and presents a virtual collapse: academic staff continues to leave for fear of mounting threats and insurgency, teaching being erratic and most buildings being damaged or destroyed.The education system is currently in a stage of profound rebuilding and restructuring particularly at a time when the demand for higher education system addressing the national needs and priorities comprehensively seems to be a source of much pressure. This mounting pressure is equally evident on Iraqi institutions and centres of knowledge to produce relevant and knowledge at an unparalleled rate. The diverse demands for qualified human resources of the complex national economy with evolving global links require knowledge and skills for decision-making and for production. The current efforts of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR) and institutions of higher learning are in the midst of accelerating change, yet they have to grapple with profound processes of decision-making addressing issues such as: relevance (curricula reforms and accreditation); quality; scientific research; teachers' and students' welfare; technical and teachers' education; academic freedom; decentralization and institutional autonomy; long-term financial sustainability; and internationalization. Simultaneously, institutions of higher learning will also have as a goal to provide learners with academic and ethical values, as well as having the commitment to educate critical citizens prepared to engage in democratic participation. Change of the Iraqi higher education structure and of research is thus seated in an extremely complex reality, in which no self-evident choices are available and where actions have multiple effects in a dynamically interdependent environment.Yet the challenges Iraq faces cannot be solved with piecemeal changes;but strong forces that will affect Iraqi society in the near future: economic reconstruction, population change, globalization and the rapid growth in knowledge. The situation must be met by a fundamental reorientation of higher education activities under a unified perspective (new vision). Providing this "new vision" and a "strategic plan" for specific and realistic short- and medium-term choices is the aim of this paper. The vision and the strategic plan have been formulated to help guide the initiatives of the MOHESR and to provide clear priorities for an efficient use of available resources.
