Are you planning to transfer your children from one school to another? The Simaet Bhatha team interviewed a representative from the Ministry of Education on the school transfer process. This article will show you the main steps of transferring students from one school to another, the procedure of transferring students of senior years is different from the procedures required to transfer students of non-senior years.
What are the senior and non-senior years of School Grades?
The senior years:
- The 6th grade of school
- The 9th grade of school (or the 3rd grade of secondary school)
- The 12th grade of school (or the graduation year of high school)
Any Grade other than the three grades mentioned above is the non-senior year.
6 Steps to transfer students of non-senior years:
- The student’s parent will need to obtain a ‘no-objection statement from the new school.
- The new school will need to verify:
- The reason for transferring the student to the new school: if it is due to a change of address, the residence card (or support letter from the Mukhtar of the new neighborhood certified by the new district Mayor) is needed.
- The student must have passed all the curriculum subjects or failed in no more than two subjects, as the failed student in more than two subjects is not allowed to transfer.
- Then the parents will need to fill out a transfer form and submit it to the administration office of the old school which the old school’s principal approves.
- Afterward, the student will be provided with the school file, stamped, and signed by the old school principal, and provided with his/her full share of school stationery from the old school.
- After the transfer approval from the old school, the student or the parents will need to submit the following to the new school
- School file, stamped and signed by the old school’s principal.
- Transfer form, approved by the old school office.
- ID and nationality certificate or the unified card of the student and the parents
- Residence card or residency letter approved by the Mukhtar
- Two photos of the student.
- Then the new school completes the procedures and sends the files to the Directorate of Education.
- Note: if the parents are planning to transfer their child to a school in another district or city, they will have to provide the following documents to the School Transferring Department in the new district’s Education Directorate:
- School file, stamped and signed by the old school’s principal.
- Transfer form, approved by the old school
- ID and nationality certificate or the unified card of the student and the parents
- Residence card or residency letter approved by the Mukhtar, and Ration Card
- Two photos of the student.
Then the Directorate will complete the procedures and send the file of the student’s full documents to the new school by official mail.
For example, suppose a student needs to be transferred from Ninawa primary school which is located in Mosul district to Kaberly primary school which is located in Al-Hamdanyah district. After obtaining the Transfer form and finishing all procedures in Ninawa school, the parents will need to submit the above documents to the School Transferring Department of Al-Hamdanyah Education Directorate. After that, the Department will send the full documents file to Kaberly School by official mail.
8 Steps to transfer Students of senior years:
- The student or one of the parents needs to submit a transfer request to the old school.
- Visit the Directorate of Education of the old school. fill out the Transfer Form with the required information about the student (like the full name, date of birth, etc.).
- The form will be checked and stamped by the Directorate of Education.
- attach the student’s certificate with the form and, a personal photo, a copy of the identity or national card, and a copy of the residence card.
- To complete the procedures, it might need to provide copies and verification of the documents, according to the competent employee requirement, The completed file will be addressed to the Ministry of Education in Baghdad to approve the application.
- The application will be sent back to the old school by official mail and can be taken by hand directly by one of the parents or by the student.
- When the Ministry of Education approves the request, the official letter of approval will be sent to the Directorate of Education of the old school to complete the transfer procedure., It includes sending a letter to the new school, transferring the student to the list of the new school’s students, and registering the student’s examination number in the district of the new school (all these procedures will be held by the Directorate of Education).
- The student will need to visit the new school to make sure that the name and the examination number are correct and included in the new school list of students.
What to do if my examination number was mistaken?
If you have been transferred and you find out that there is a mistake in the examination number for the card, you can do the following:
- Go to the Directorate of Education in the governorate in your area, and the competent employee will prepare an official letter to inform the Ministry of Education about your mistaken examination number after being transferred to another school.
- The Ministry of Education will send a letter of (no objection) to the Directorate of Education to correct the number.
- The number will be modified in the lists of the Directorate of Education, and a letter will be sent to the new school to modify the examination number in their list as well.
But if you have been transferred and the examination number did not been issued yet, you will be given a new number in the new school. The new number will be registered in the Directorate of Education as well.
How long does it take for the student to be transferred?
For Non-senior years:
- If the transfer was in the same district, it would take nearly seven working days.
- If it was from one governorate or district to another, it may take from one month to 3 months. So the Directorate of Education advises the student to submit a request called admission insurance. It will allow the student to continue studying during the school year until the File of full documents, including the school card, arrives.
Note: in rare cases, The student is allowed to receive the documents and submit them in person to the school. There is an exception that the office employee will decide according to the case.
For Senior years:
For transferring a senior year student, it does not exceed two weeks as a maximum.
When are the students allowed to transfer?
For Non-senior years:
Parents can transfer students at one of the following times:
- The first two months of the school year, and then the Ministry of Education closes the process of transfer, or
- After the mid-term exams for two months only.
For Senior years:
The transferring process starts after the final-term exams finish and will stop after the second month of the new school year.
Note: The Iraqi Ministry of Education has allocated five primary schools to each region within the framework of one district. If there is an increase in the number of students within these five schools, it is possible to open a support school within that geographical area of the Directorate of Education in that governorate.
What is the total cost of transferring a student from one school to another?
For Non-senior years:
The total cost of the student's transfer process is approximately (3000 - 10000) Iraqi dinars, which are the estimated fees for copying the documents or the transfer form.
For Senior years:
The total cost is approximately (5000 - 15000) Iraqi dinars.
Does the new school provide school stationeries?
No, the students must take the curriculum books and school stationery that they need from the old school, and in the next year of the new school, the student’s share will be provided by the new school.
For more information about the latest updates published by the Iraqi Ministry of Education, you can visit the official website of the Ministry of Education by clicking here, or you can visit the Facebook page of the Iraqi Ministry of Education by clicking here.
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