Online School & Homeschool in Iraq

Live online Cambridge IGCSE, A-Level, Pearson Edexcel, IB Diploma, and American AP for energy, corporate, academic and Iraqi families across Baghdad, Basra, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Duhok. Iraq shares our teaching clock exactly — UTC+3 year-round on both sides, no offset and no drift — so every hour of our day is available at the hour it shows on yours.

From USD 423/month, quoted in USD. Small live classes 4-6 students, Cambridge / IB / American AP through to A-Level — alongside your school, at any hour.

Where our Iraq families are

Smartious Iraq families concentrate across Baghdad (the federal capital, the University of Baghdad and the country's largest professional population), Basra (the southern oil province, the ports and an internationally recruited technical workforce), Erbil (the Kurdistan Region's capital and the country's deepest international school provision), Sulaymaniyah (the Region's academic city, with English-medium higher education and thinner school provision), and Duhok and the north (agriculture, the trade corridor and dispersed mountain communities). Two education authorities depending on where you live, one honest legal hedge, and no timezone at all.

Homeschool laws and regulation in Iraq

Iraq has one structural feature that shapes everything else about its education framework, and one question we could not verify. Both belong at the top.

Two administering authorities, not one

This is the fact families most need and the one most often flattened. Education in Iraq is administered on two tracks: the federal Ministry of Education administers schooling in the governorates under federal administration, and the Kurdistan Region has its own Ministry of Education administering schooling in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok and Halabja — with differences in curriculum, language of instruction and school administration between them. So the ministry that governs a family's situation is determined by where they live. Readers of our Bosnian, Argentine and Swiss pages will recognise the pattern: one country, more than one administering authority, and operative detail that depends on address rather than nationality.

What is compulsory, and what licensing applies

Education is compulsory at the primary level, and families should confirm the current boundaries with the ministry that administers education where they live rather than take them from any article. Private and international schools operate with licensing from the relevant ministry. Smartious holds no licence from either the federal Ministry of Education or the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Education, does not operate premises in Iraq, and issues no Iraqi or Regional qualification. The national secondary examinations are administered within each track; we do not teach toward either of them.

What we could not establish

A position on parental home education in either administrative track. We could not verify it against a primary instrument, and we are not going to fill that gap with confident prose. We will not tell you it is permitted and we will not tell you it is prohibited; both would exceed what we can evidence. What we would add is the point we make in Panama, Guatemala, Venezuela and Jordan: an absence of clear regulation is an absence of protection rather than a permission, because where a matter is unaddressed there is nothing for a family to demonstrate if the question is raised. Put it to the ministry that administers education where you live.

What we therefore build

Live Cambridge or IB teaching alongside an Iraqi school enrolment. The school carries the compulsory-education duty, the national curriculum and the domestic record; we teach the internationally examined track alongside it. Nothing in that arrangement depends on the unresolved question, which is exactly why it is the arrangement we build.

Why an English-medium examined record matters even at home

One point specific to Iraq is worth drawing out. Two of the country's well-regarded institutions — the American University of Iraq Sulaimani and the University of Kurdistan Hewlêr — teach in English, and a great many Iraqi students head for English-medium higher education whether in Iraq, the Gulf, Jordan, Türkiye or further afield. Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level are English-medium and externally examined, which means a student arrives at that kind of institution holding a demonstrated academic record in the language of instruction rather than only a language test score. That is a benefit which applies even to families with no intention of leaving the country.

The clock, and how we plan examinations

Iraq runs UTC+3 year-round with no seasonal clock changes, and our teaching base runs UTC+3 year-round. That is a zero offset — not a small one, not one that shifts in summer, but none at all. Every hour of our teaching day is available at exactly the hour it appears on an Iraqi family's clock. On examinations, we plan earlier here than in most markets: Erbil holds the deepest capacity and is checked first, Baghdad serves federal-governorate families, and arrangements for Basra, Sulaymaniyah and Duhok are planned several weeks ahead of each window. Where a domestic sitting is not practical for a particular series we discuss alternatives in good time, including sittings arranged where families have relatives or business in Jordan, the Gulf or Türkiye. Every class is also recorded, so a session that cannot be attended is never a session lost.

Why Iraq families choose Smartious

Zero timezone offset, year-round

Iraq and our teaching base both run UTC+3 with no seasonal changes — every hour of our day available at the hour it shows on your clock.

Both education authorities explained

Federal Ministry of Education or the Kurdistan Region's own, depending on where you live. We set out the distinction rather than flattening it.

An English-medium record for English-medium universities

Valuable even for students staying in Iraq, given the country's English-medium institutions.

Basra, Duhok and Sulaymaniyah reached

An oil province, a mountain governorate and an academic city, all thinner on provision than their profiles suggest.

Examinations planned at enrolment

Raised early, travel planned into each window, and alternatives discussed well before an entry deadline.

Every session recorded

A class that cannot be attended is never a class lost — pacing is adjusted per student rather than assumed.

Fees and admission

From USD 423/month for Primary, payable termly; varies by curriculum and level. One-to-one tuition: USD 15/hour.

Frequently asked questions

Is homeschooling legal in Iraq?

We could not verify a position in either administrative track and will not guess. Education is compulsory at the primary level, administered by the federal Ministry of Education in the federal governorates and by the Kurdistan Region's own Ministry of Education in the Region. An absence of clear regulation is not a permission — confirm with the ministry that administers education where you live.

Which ministry applies to my family?

It depends on where you live. The Kurdistan Region — Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok and Halabja — has its own Ministry of Education; elsewhere it is the federal Ministry of Education. Curriculum, language of instruction and school administration differ between the two tracks.

Do you teach the Iraqi national examinations?

No. We hold no licence from either ministry and issue no Iraqi or Regional qualification. We teach Cambridge, Edexcel, IB and AP examinations, which sit alongside the Iraqi record rather than replacing it.

What time are classes?

Any hour of our teaching day, at exactly the time it shows on your clock. Iraq and our teaching base both run UTC+3 year-round with no seasonal changes — a zero offset.

Our child may stay in Iraq for university — is an international record still worth it?

Often yes. Two well-regarded Iraqi institutions teach in English, and an English-medium externally examined record means a student arrives with demonstrated academic work in the language of instruction rather than only a test score.

Where would our child sit examinations?

We plan this at enrolment. Erbil holds the deepest capacity and is checked first, Baghdad serves federal-governorate families, and arrangements for Basra, Sulaymaniyah and Duhok are planned several weeks ahead. Where a domestic sitting is not practical we discuss alternatives in good time.

We are on an energy posting in Basra — does the schooling follow?

Yes: the same curriculum, teachers, and examination board continue to the next basin or country, with examinations sat at authorised centres wherever the family is.

Which parts of Iraq does Smartious cover?

Baghdad, Basra, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Duhok and the north have dedicated pages. Live online delivery works identically anywhere in the country.

Guides for families in this country

What parents say

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“I have peace of mind as a Smartious Homeschool parent. No more traffic and early morning rush to school. Smartious are the most organized homeschool providers.” — Google reviewer, Google review