And like most schools in Iraq these days, there has been a steady decline in what the school offers its students. Supplies are so scarce that children have to bring chalk for their teachers. We also believe the country has been isolated from academic development in the rest of the world. The quality of education has seriously deteriorated. One major factor in the deterioration of educational institutions in Iraq is decreased investment.
Most schools are so overcrowded that students attend in two or three shifts.
At the Tunis School, the first shift begins at 8 a.m. and the second at noon, which means students get only four hours of instruction each day. Students must bring water from home because the school doesn't have any. Four or five students have to share a single book. It's not just food that makes a healthy individual. Before the war, education was totally free in Iraq.