Parliamentary committee demands increase in education budget

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The parliamentary education committee on Wednesday demanded to increase the budget of the two Ministries of Education and Higher education to 15 percent of the 2009 federal budget, instead of 6 percent. “The government did not pay the required attention to the education sector,” lawmaker Alaa Makee, the committee’s head, said in a press conference in Baghdad that was attended by IraqiNews.com news agency. “The current budget of the Ministry of Education is 4 percent of the 2009 federal budget, while the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research would get 2 percent,” he said. MH (P)/SR 1