U.S. Withdraws From Education Reform in Iraq

When the new school year opens in Iraq in October, Iraqis will not be receiving any financial or technical help from the U.S. government to improve what goes on in the classroom, for the first time since Saddam Hussein’s regime was ousted by American-led coalition forces.

The U.S. Agency for International Development ended its support of the Iraqi education sector in June, according to USAID officials and a July report to Congress. No longer will the federal government sponsor workshops for teachers on child-centered teaching methods, refurbish schools through small grants to communities, distribute school supplies, or pay for the printing of textbooks—activities that the United States has subsidized since spring 2003.

And the government is getting out of school reform before it accomplishes many of the goals it...