Iraq is in need of a total of 8,000 schools to bridge the gap in its educational sector, a Housing Ministry official told the Iraqi News Agency. In a country of 40 million, around 3.2 million schoolchildren are out of school.

To that end, Iraq signed agreements on Thursday with two Chinese companies to build 1,000 schools in the country in a span of two years. The deals, which were signed in the presence of Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, were made with Power China (which will build 679 schools) and Sinotech (which will build the remaining 321).

The construction of these schools will help strengthen Iraq’s educational infrastructure. Though the country is very rich in oil, it has suffered from a weak infrastructure as a result of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship and corruption and the US invasion of its soil and sovereignty, which pillaged its resources. Iraq will pay for these schools with oil exports.

An additional 3,000 schools will be built in the second phase, and 4,000 more in the last stage.