The Ministry of Education announced the opening of 9 schools as an initial batch out of 61 within the Chinese loan in Diwaniyah Governorate. The Ministry of Education stated in a statement that "the signs of the Iraqi-Chinese agreement began to appear after the opening of nine schools that meet the comprehensive quality standards in Diwaniyah as a first batch out of (61) whose construction will be completed before the end of this year." The statement explained that "this project targets densely populated areas in an initiative to end the crisis of overcrowding in classrooms while providing an ideal environment with the start of the new school year." Source: National Iraqi News Agency