Iraq: Ministry of Education prepares for the opening of middle school matriculation exams

Preparation for public exams in Iraq

The Iraqi Ministry of Education has issued final guidelines ahead of the opening of the public exams for the 2025-2026 school year (first round) for middle school students. According to reports circulating on local Telegram channels, the exams are expected to begin on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 07:00 AM Baghdad time.

The channel نيمار ابن الانبار emphasized to the students that it is important to pay attention to the early start time: "It is essential to pay attention to the exam time. For third-year middle school, your exam is at 7:00. It is different from the sixth grade of elementary school; you are at 7:00" (according to نيمار ابن الانبار). The report notes that the exams will be held for all sectors in Arabic, Kurdish, Turkmen, and foreign languages, both inside Iraq and at educational institutions abroad.

At the same time, channels such as واحد عراق and جريدة الصباح العراقية added an important administrative instruction: in the event that one of the exam days falls on an official public holiday, the exam will be postponed to the following day while maintaining the original schedule that was published (according to جريدة الصباح العراقية).

The Ministry of Education confirmed the details of the outline in several media sources, including the channel واحد العراق, in order to dispel uncertainty among students and parents regarding exam times and their proper conduct.