Iraqi lawmaker warns of $2.6 billion outflow to foreign tutoring platforms over five years

BAGHDAD, Iraq — An Iraqi lawmaker has warned that fees paid by high school seniors to foreign online tutoring platforms are draining substantial foreign currency from the country's economy. Amir Abduljabar said roughly 126 educational platforms have been operating for middle and high school students since 2020, with most of them based in Jordan, Egypt and other countries. Abduljabar identified the largest platform as Abvab, headquartered in Jordan, which charges about one million Iraqi dinars per course. A student taking seven courses can pay around seven million dinars, he said. The platform has roughly 120,000 subscribers and generates about 1.54 trillion dinars annually from high school seniors alone, according to the lawmaker. Out of Iraq's 1.1 million high school seniors, Abduljabar said 860,000 subscribe to such platforms, pushing the annual cost to 6.02 trillion dinars. Over a five-year period, he projected, as much as 30.1 trillion dinars could flow out of the country. The lawmaker also noted that some platforms receive licenses through the state Education Television channel, but that the arrangement brings no meaningful revenue to the Ministry of Education. He called on the ministry to set up low-cost government-run platforms to curb the outflow.