First Coeducational Intermediate School to be opened by Armenians in Post-War Iraq

The Iraqi Armenian Diocese has got the permission of the Iraqi Minister of Education to reopen a coeducational intermediate school in Baghdad, which would be the first school of its kind in post-war Iraq.
The new school would be at the side of the Armenian National Coeducational Primary School of Baghdad, which was reopened on October 15, 2004, by the Primate of the Iraqi Armenian Diocese, H.E. Archbishop Avak Asadourian. The School, which was nationalized by the former (Ba'ath) regime 32 years ago and contained kindergarten, primary, intermediate and secondary coeducational classes, was also the first coeducational primary school opened in post-war Iraq .
As a result of the efforts exerted by the Primate and the officials of the Iraqi Armenian Diocese, and for the first time in the history of Iraq, the right to teach Armenian along with other languages in Iraq was stated in the country's transitional and permanent constitutions.
The number of the students of the Primary School was decreased this year from 178 to 155 due to attacks and terrorist acts carried out in the neighborhood of the school.

By Ara S. Ashjian
Baghdad, Iraq