School textbook printing contracts: Integrity Commission findings, summonses of a former minister and directors general, and a ten-year sentence (from 2014 to 2026)
In January 2019 the Integrity Commission's prevention department said a ministerial committee had overestimated the cost of 148 textbook titles by more than IQD 14.5 billion compared with private offers. It said a British company held a 2014 to 2020 contract to write and print textbooks, and that the sixth annual contract (9 May 2018, IQD 27.76 billion for 24 English titles) was printed and stored in Kirkuk contrary to its terms and delivered after school began. In December 2021, in a case over the suspected takeover of the ministry's book and notebook contracts by a member of Parliament, the Rusafa integrity court summoned a former minister and the former director general of the Nahrain State Company for Printing under Article 340; the notebook contract had passed through Nahrain to a private firm for printing abroad. The Sadrist movement, which had filed complaints, said a former minister and three directors general had been summoned. In January 2022 the head of the Literacy Agency was summoned over 85 books printed outside the contracting rules. In March 2023 a former head of the ministry's legal department received ten years in absentia for taking IQD 100 million from a printing contractor.
- Period
- From 2014 to September 2026
- Sector
- Education and public worksTextbook and school notebook printing contracts (Nahrain State Company, private and foreign printers)
- Kind of case
- Criminal prosecution
- Jurisdiction
- Federal Iraq
How the money moved
Inflated cost estimates, contracts passed from a state printer to private firms for printing abroad, contracting outside the government rules, and a payment to an official to pass a printing contract, according to the Integrity Commission and the court.
What happened
Summonses of a former minister and the former Nahrain director general (December 2021) and of the Literacy Agency's director general (January 2022); ten years in absentia for a former legal affairs director (March 2023). In August 2026 Parliament asked the ministry for all textbook printing contracts from 2016 to 2026. No result of the 2021 and 2022 summonses is on record as of 19 October 2026.
Open questions
- Whether the summonses of December 2021 and January 2022 led to charges or trials.
- Name of the member of Parliament suspected of taking over the printing contracts.
- Name of the British company in the 2019 Integrity Commission report, and whether it is Garnet.
- Name of the contractor that paid IQD 100 million to the former legal affairs director.
People and companies
| Name | Role in the case | Legal status | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Former director of legal affairs, Ministry of Education (unnamed) مدير قسم الشؤون القانونية السابق في وزارة التربية (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Director of the legal affairs department, Ministry of Education | Convicted (reported) | Sentenced in absentia by the Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court to ten years' imprisonment and a fine of IQD 10 million for receiving IQD 100 million from a company contracted with the ministry in return for passing a printing contract in its favour, under Resolution No. 160 of 1983 (Integrity Commission statement relayed by Baghdad Today, 18 March 2023). Not named. | 19 October 2026 |
| Former director general, Nahrain State Company for Printing and Production of Educational Supplies (unnamed) المدير العام السابق للشركة العامة للنهرين للطباعة وإنتاج المستلزمات التربوية (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Director general of the Ministry of Education's state printing company | Under investigation | Summoned under Article 340 by the Rusafa integrity investigation judge, with a former minister, in a case on the suspected takeover of the ministry's book and notebook printing contracts by a member of Parliament; the notebook contract had been passed by Nahrain to a private firm for printing abroad (Integrity Commission statement relayed by Shafaq News, 26 December 2021). Not named. No later step is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Director general of the Literacy Agency (unnamed) المدير العام لجهاز محو الأمية (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Director general of the Literacy Agency, Ministry of Education | Under investigation | Summoned under Article 340 by the Rusafa integrity investigation court over the printing and supply of 85 books and 22 textbook titles without following the government contracting methods or using average public and private sector prices (Integrity Commission statement relayed by Alsumaria, 16 January 2022). Not named. No later step is on record as of 19 October 2026. | 19 October 2026 |
| Member of Parliament suspected of taking over the ministry's printing contracts (unnamed) نائب يُشتبه باستيلائه على عقود طباعة وزارة التربية (لم يُذكر اسمه) | Member of the Council of Representatives; described by the Sadrist movement as the owner of a private printing house | Under investigation | The Integrity Commission said on 26 December 2021 that the summonses of a former minister and the former Nahrain director general were issued in an inquiry into the suspected takeover by a member of Parliament of the ministry's contracts to print books and notebooks. The Sadrist movement said the owner of a private printing house, a member of Parliament, had sold land to the ministry and then taken a five-year partnership contract with it. Not named in either statement. | 19 October 2026 |
| Dar Garnet for Educational Publishing (Garnet) دار غارنيت للنشر التربوي | Printer of the Ministry of Education's English textbooks (2018 and 2025 orders, according to NIRIJ) | Accused in credible reporting | Not charged as of the date of writing. NIRIJ (5 September 2026) cited a 2018 document of the ministry's Office of the Inspector General saying the company was invited to print the 2018 English course (24 titles) for IQD 38 billion although local printers offered IQD 29 billion, and a National Intelligence Service letter of 2 April 2017 saying it had no known address in Iraq, a stated capital of GBP 2,500 and brokers and employees inside the ministry dealing with it. A member of Parliament quoted by NIRIJ said it had not finished delivering the 2025 English books. The company's reply was not reported. | 19 October 2026 |
Sources
- Alsumaria News (Integrity Commission statement)23 January 2019Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة تفتح ملف عقود المناهج الدراسية وتؤكد: تغييرها تسبب بهدر المال العام
Original addressوجود "مغالاة" في احتساب الكلفة التخمينية لـ (148) عنوان كتاب مدرسي من قبل اللجنة الوزارية المؤلفة لهذا الغرض تقدر بأكثر من 14 مليار ونصف المليار دينار
- Shafaq News (Integrity Commission statement)26 December 2021Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
استقدام وزير ومدير عام سابقين على خلفيَّة التحقيق بعقود وزارة التربية
Original addressاتهام أحد أعضاء مجلس النواب بالاستيلاء على عقود وزارة التربية لطباعة الكتب والدفاتر، وإحالة عقد طباعة الدفتر المدرسي من قبل قسم العقود إلى شركة النهرين التي قامت بدورها بإحالة العقد لإحدى الشركات الأهليَّة
- Alsumaria News (Integrity Commission statement)16 January 2022Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة: استقدام مدير عام جهاز محو الأمية لارتكابه مخالفات بعقود وزارة التربية
Original addressارتكاب مُخالفاتٍ في طباعة وتجهيز (85) كتاباً و (22) عنوان كتاب مدرسي ... المُتَّهم لم يقم باتباع الأساليب التعاقديَّة المنصوص عليها في تعليمات العقود الحكوميَّة في طباعة الكتب المدرسيَّة
- Baghdad Today (Integrity Commission statement)18 March 2023Official statement reported by the mediaTier B
النزاهة تعلن تفاصيل الحكم بالسجن على مسؤول سابق في وزارة التربية
Original addressحكمت على مدير قسم الشؤون القانونيَّة في وزارة التربية سابقاً، بالسجن الغيابيِّ لمُدَّة عشر سنواتٍ ... بتسلُّم مبلغ (100,000,000) مليون دينار من إحدى الشركات المُتعاقدة مع وزارة التربية؛ مقابل تمرير عقد طباعةٍ لمصلحتها
- Shafaq News25 November 2021Press reportTier D
الصدر يقاضي وزيرين ومديرين عامين بوزارة التربية بقضايا فساد
Original addressدعاوى قضائية ضد وزيرين للتربية ومديرين عامين في الوزارة وصاحب إحدى المطابع، بسبب ملفات فساد في طباعة المناهج الدراسية
- Shafaq News22 December 2021Press reportTier D
محكمة النزاهة تستدعي وزيرة التربية السابقة و3 مديرين عامين بقضايا فساد
Original addressأصدرت محكمة النزاهة أمراً باستقدام وزيرة التربية السابقة وثلاثة مديرين عامين بقضايا فساد تخص ملف طباعة المناهج الدراسية
- Shafaq News3 January 2022Press reportTier D
Sadrist movement discloses details of corrupt deals in the Ministry of Education
Original addressThe statement said that the movement's legal body filed a lawsuit against the former Minister of Education, Soha al-Ali, and three directors for corruption suspicions in a case related to publishing academic curricula.
- NIRIJ Investigative Network5 September 2026Press reportTier D
المليارات السنوية لطباعة المناهج تثير تساؤلات بشأن "التدوير" والأسعار والعقود الخارجية وإقصاء المطابع العراقية
Original addressوجهت وزارة التربية دعوة إلى الشركة لطباعة منهج اللغة الإنجليزية للعام الدراسي 2018، بواقع 24 عنوان كتاب، وبكلفة بلغت 38 مليار دينار، رغم تقدم شركات محلية بعروض لطباعة المنهج نفسه بقيمة 29 مليار دينار