ABSTRACT
The increase in oil revenues in past years gave Iraq the opportunity to accelerate the process of educational development. These revenues affected educational policies and practices, which in turn affected manpower resources for economic development. Since achieving its independence from Turkish rule after the post World War I disintegration of the Ottoman empire, Iraq has maintained a system of centralized state control in the educational, political, and economic fields. Iraqi governments have devoted increasing attention to providing not only general, but also higher and specialized education. Although radical changes occurred in government forms and political attitudes following the Iraqi Revolution of July 14, 1958 (when the political system changed from a monarchy to a republic), the concept of centralized government control of the nation's affairs continued to prevail as a necessity for the state to protect the public interest and individual rights and to achieve national unity.
