TEFL blog » ESL in the Middle East

In December we posted about a job opportunity at the University of Kurdistan Hawler in Iraq. The vacancy met with mixed reactions about the security issues involved in teaching in Iraq, despite the university being in the relatively safe north.

Well, further teaching opportunities will soon become available as a new American University is planned in the Kurdish-controlled region, on the outskirts of the city of Suleimaniah. The university aims to specialise in IT and engineering, but, according to this article from the Kurdistan Regional Government website, will open with “a small intake for intensive foundation English courses.”

There is a shortage of teachers in the region, at both school and university level, despite the scholarships now being offered by the Education Ministry to teachers arriving from Baghdad. According to the Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, quoted in the article, 10 teachers arrive every day, seeking refuge from Baghdad. The problem is that they cannot use these teachers because they cannot teach in the Kurdish language.

This job vacancy has caused quite a reaction in some blogs. The Univeristy of Kurdistan Hawler is recruiting teachers for positions in the secure northern region of Iraq, with a salary of $30,000.

Would you teach in Iraq? Doesn’t everyone deserve the chance to learn English, regardless of where they live? Post a comment below…