Baghdad: The Ministry of Education announced on Monday updates to some school curricula, emphasizing that there are no new additions to the curricula for the current academic year.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Ministry spokesperson Karim al-Sayed stated in a press release: “There are updates to the curricula for some grade levels and specific subjects. These updates apply only to two grades: first grade and fourth grade (both literary and scientific tracks).” He clarified that “the first-grade reading curriculum is not a new curriculum, but rather a revised one, as it was developed and implemented two years ago on a trial basis, following scientific, administrative, and legal procedures. This year, it will be implemented for this grade level.”

He further explained that “the addition to the mathematics curriculum is a continuation of the modern mathematics series and some updates specific to this grade level. The Ministry has no new additions to the curricula.”

He added: “Last year we added material on Ba’ath Party crimes, in addition to moral education, but this year we have no additions to the curriculum, only updates to curricula that were approved in previous years.”