Baghdad, Nov 23 (IANS): The Iraqi government has announced that it plans to build 7,000 schools as part of its efforts to fill the shortage of educational institutes in the country.

On Sunday, a statement by the media office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said that al-Kadhimi held a meeting with the Higher Committee for Constructing School in Iraq to discuss the construction of the 7,000 buildings across the country, reports Xinhua news agency.

The first stage of the project included the construction of 1,000 school buildings, the statement said.

Al-Kadhimi stressed that schools should be built according to modern designs, the statement said without giving further details about when the project will start.

Iraq suffers from a shortage of schools due to years of wars, conflicts, and corruption that have severely damaged educational institutions.

The fragile educational infrastructure has forced some schools to operate three shifts a day.

Earlier in the day, Qusay al-Yasiri, head of the Parliamentary Education Committee, told local media that Iraq needs to build between 15,000 and 20,000 schools to fill the shortage of school buildings in the country.

According to the Unicef, there are nearly 3.2 million Iraqi children out of school due to the shortage.

The situation is worse for girls, who are under-represented in both primary and secondary schools.