Abstract:

This article looks at higher education in Iraqi Kurdistan, the problems that exist in this area and ways to solve them. The article also provides rankings for various universities, both of Iraqi Kurdistan in particular and of Iraq in general.
Since its formation in 1992 to the present, Iraqi Kurdistan has remained virtually an independent territory, the most peaceful and economically favorable part of Iraq.
Over the past decades, not only new schools but also universities have been opened. Of the official universities of Iraqi Kurdistan, the following are specifically worth mentioning:
1. Sulaymaniya University, founded in 1968, more than 25 thousand students (2015);
2. Salahaddin University founded in 1970, more than 20 thousand students (2015);
3. University of Kurdistan founded in 2006, more than 400 students (2010).
In recent years, global university rankings have become one of the most popular means of evaluating the performance of a particular university. The most-widely read university rankings in the world today are the QS World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE) and Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU or the Shanghai ranking). Unfortunately, Iraqi universities, including those in South Kurdistan, are not included in these rankings.
In recent years, the World University Ranking Webometrics has gained some popularity. According to this ranking, at the beginning of 2023, the best among Iraqi Universities is the University of Baghdad (ranked 4875th in the world). The top ten Iraqi Universities also include Duhok University, Kufa University and Kurdistan University.
Thus, Iraqi universities, including those of the economically booming Southern Kurdistan, are on the far periphery of global academia, ranking behind Afghan, Tajik, Mongolian and African universities, not to mention Turkish and Iranian universities, which are well ahead of Iraqi universities in the rankings. For example, Inönu University in Malatya ranks 701st in the world.
Further, the article reflects on the reasons for this situation in the higher education of Iraqi Kurdistan, its problems and ways to solve them.
The Iraqi Kurdistan authorities still have much work to do to improve the quality of education in the region:
- They should concentrate their efforts on 1-2 universities to bring them to a qualitatively different international level;
- They should not open a new university in almost every city in the region, because very often quantity does not translate into quality;
- There should also be a rigorous selection of applicants.
If the authorities' policies in this area go in the right direction, Iraqi Kurdistan universities will soon be able to reach a new international level and rank higher in various international university rankings.

Keywords:

Iraq, Kurdistan, Webometrics, Cybometrics lab, Duhok, Erbil, Sulaymaniya.