Duhok: One billion and 98 million dinars corruption cases uncovered in Sinjar education directorate

Nineveh, Ezidi children go to school on a muddy road in Sinjar Mountain, 2019. Photo: Ibrahim Ezidi

Ammar Aziz- Duhok

Three persons have been arrested for a corruption case of Sinjar lecturers' budget that was worth a billion and 98 million Iraqi Dinars (IQD). The corruption happened at a time when hundreds of volunteer lecturers taught Ezidi students to continue providing  children with education.

The alleged case of corruption, which has been revealed by a parliament member and a report of the integrity commission in Duhok, was committed in the education directorate of Sinjar, which is under the jurisdiction of the general directorate of Duhok province.

Halz Sa’id, a member of the education committee in the Kurdistan Region’s parliament, told KirkukNow that, “the former director of education, his brother, and the accountant, during the rule of the Islamic State group (IS) and the displacement of the people of Sinjar, were involved in a billion and 98 million IQD corruption case, that was allocated for wages of the lecturers, the case has been submitted to the integrity commission and investigation is ongoing.”

The former director of education has concealed, but his brother, the accountant, and another person have been arrested.

Sa’id said that, “some claim that the former director has migrated to Germany, other say he still lives in the Kurdistan region but has concealed… we will not stop until the corrupt people are punished.”

We will not stop until the corrupt people are punished

Currently, a new director has been appointed to education directorate in Sinjar.

KirkukNow contacted the media office of education directorate in Duhok, but they declined to give any information on the case.

The directorate have only issued a statement, in which it says that, “as a part of our reform attempts to combat corruption in our directorate, we carried out reform to the list of the lecturers of Kurdish education directorate in Sinjar, and the corruption case of the wages of lectures has been transferred to the Duhok integrity commission.”

The corruption happened during the rule of IS in Sinjar, when at least 400 volunteer lecturers continued teaching the Ezidi children at the camps located in the different areas of Iraq including the Kurdistan Region.

Last week, in a parliament session, Alan Hama Sa’id, the minister of education of the Kurdistan Regional Government, said that, “we have been combating corruption at the order of prime minister and a corruption case of the wages of lecturers that is worth a billion and 98 million IQD has been committed in one of the Duhok directorates.”

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