ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani rang the bell at a school in Erbil on Sunday to mark the start of the new academic year, wishing students across the Region “great success.”

Speaking at the ceremony, Barzani highlighted the Region’s religious and cultural diversity, saying “our beauty is in that we come from different religions, different backgrounds” and stressing the importance of respecting other religions and the country’s diversity. He also told students, “You are the future of this country,” saying they can determine its future direction.

For the new academic year, 110 school books have been edited, with 19 million new books prepared for students and distributed across schools in the Region, according to data from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The changes were made in Sorani, Badini, Arabic, English, Syriac, and Turkmen.

The new school year begins with more than 1.75 million students across more than 7,600 schools and over 176,700 teachers and school employees. During the KRG’s ninth cabinet, 236 schools have been built, and 2,650 schools have been renovated.

Meanwhile, federal Iraq has delayed the start of the new school year until October due to electricity shortages, a shortage of school buildings, and logistical unpreparedness.

Public-sector employees in the Kurdistan Region have also borne the brunt of the budgetary dispute between Erbil and Baghdad, facing repeated delays in salary payments over the years.