Iraqi agency says student grant payments halted over budget delay

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Social Protection Authority, affiliated with the Ministry of Labor, has temporarily suspended student grant payments because the 2026 budget has not been approved, the authority's director general, Abdulrahman al-Mansouri, said. He stressed that no formal decision has been taken to cancel the grant, and described the issue as financial rather than policy-driven. The grants are funded under the general budget law through the Ministry of Education's budget and are not administered as a separate allocation from the Labor Ministry, according to a state news agency. Payments will resume once the budget is approved and a dedicated allocation is set for the student grant, the agency reported. Al-Mansouri said the accrued entitlements cover a four-month period. The grant currently benefits 2.4 million primary, middle and high school students, while university students remain excluded from the program.