Sema
The Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Region has issued a formal directive to the Ministry of Higher Education regarding the admission of Ezidi survivors of ISIS terrorism to universities and institutes across the region.
On Wednesday, July 23, 2025, the Council sent an official letter to the Ministry of Higher Education stating the following:
“To facilitate the reintegration and continuation of education for survivors of ISIS terrorism—especially Ezidi survivors whose names are registered on the official survivors’ list—and by the order of H.E. Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, the following actions must be implemented:
• A framework shall be established to admit survivors of ISIS terrorism into all universities and institutes in the Kurdistan Region, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Special accommodations must be provided to support and enhance their academic progress.
• Survivors are to be exempted from all parallel education fees at universities and institutes under the Ministry.
• These benefits apply exclusively to those survivors whose names are listed in the official records of relevant government agencies.”
Additionally, by order of H.E. Masrour Barzani, Ezidi survivors attending private universities and institutes in the Kurdistan Region will not be required to pay any tuition fees—these will be fully covered by the government.
Further facilities will also be provided for Ezidi survivors pursuing higher education (higher diplomas, master’s degrees, and doctorates).
Moreover, by the same order, financial grants have been made available to Ezidi survivors of ISIS for one year, and this program is still ongoing. Currently, 3,575 survivors—including girls, boys, women, men, children and adults—are benefiting from this support in Kurdistan, Iraq, and abroad.
Over the past three years, the Lalish Cultural and Social Foundation has submitted several projects to H.E. Masrour Barzani in service of the survivors, and he has welcomed and approved all of them.
Finally, the Prime Minister has also instructed the delivery of additional services—including educational, cultural, psychological, and social support—to Ezidi survivors, in recognition of their endurance and to help restore their future.
