Baghdad: The Ministry of Education has issued a warning to seven private university medical colleges, as directed by Acting Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Abdul Hussein Al-Moussawi. The directive calls for strict adherence to academic and administrative standards to ensure educational rigor in these institutions.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the minister approved the minutes of the inspection committee for private university medical colleges. The ministry’s press release highlighted the importance of maintaining academic rigor and clinical training to produce competent graduates for Iraqi hospitals. Each of the seven medical colleges has been warned to address the violations noted in the inspection committee’s report by October 15th, or face suspension of student admissions.

The minister has mandated that medical colleges with operational hospitals complete necessary improvements to ensure successful educational and training processes, as per the inspection committee’s reports, within the warning period. For private universities lacking a university hospital, a collaboration with the Ministry of Health is required to develop a teaching hospital. This partnership mandates an annual investment of no less than one billion Iraqi dinars from the colleges for the hospital’s maintenance and improvement.

Furthermore, the ministry emphasized that student admissions should align with the actual capacity of the colleges and their affiliated teaching hospitals. The capacity is determined by the number of available hospital beds, adhering to a standard ratio of three students per occupied bed annually. This approach also considers the requirements for teaching staff and academic standards to ensure quality education.