DAA's curricula; new step to all stages of education

AMARA JUDY-JIHAD ROJ /QAMISHLO

About 21,000 teachers in al-Jazeera region have received new training on new curriculum approved by Pedagogy and Education Body in al-Jazeera region.

The Directorate of Education in the Derik region, which is affiliated to Pedagogy and Education Body in al-Jazeera region, has launched training courses for teachers in the region in order to prepare them for the next school year. About 1,093 teachers from Derik area receive training on various subjects of the new curriculum in the centers allocated by the Directorate of Education in Derik for the rehabilitation of teachers according to the teaching system allocated by Democratic Autonomous Administration in Rojava and North Syria and teachers will be screened at Derik's schools, Koçerat and Berav.

Autonomous Administration Curricula

The new curriculum will be adopted in all schools in al-Jazeera region starting from the next academic year. Students from grades 1 to 11 will study Autonomous Administration curricula in their native language, except for students in the 12th grade of secondary school or baccalaureate.

Autonomous Administration has gradually taught its curricula in the early years of primary school only. Last year, the new curricula entered the preparatory stage and the secondary stage is also scheduled for next year.

Baccalaureate students will not study Autonomous Administration courses because Rojava University is currently unable to accommodate the number of students who will finish the secondary school next year. The administrator in the Pedagogy and Education Body Manal Mohammed Amin said that the Pedagogy and Education Body is working to expand the University of Rojava, increase its branches, and establish new buildings capable of accommodating students in the coming years.

The subjects introduced by Autonomous Administration in the new curricula

Teachers have received courses on various new curriculm’s subjects, which include both scientific and literary subjects such as History, Geography, Mathematics, Science, Physics, Chemistry, Arabic, Kurdish and English languages, as well as Music, Drawing, Arts and Sports.

The Autonomous Administration excluded two subjects which are "National Education" and "Religious Education" that the Syrian regime taught in its schools. Instead, it introduced the articles of "Teaching Methodology" at the primary level, the subject of "Culture and Ethics", "Sociology", "method and methods of teaching" , "Component language", and "Women and Life Science" in the preparatory and secondary stages. A new subject instead of "Religious Education" entitled "History of Religions and Beliefs of Peoples" will be discussed and studied to enter the curriculum in the next stage.

Each component studies and learns in its own language

As Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac languages ​​are the official languages ​​of Rojava and northern Syria, Autonomous Administration has developed its curriculum in the three languages.

Teachers are trained to teach Autonomous Administration curriculum in all three languages. Teachers receive their training in Arabic and Kurdish at present, while the Syriac language is currently working on the rehabilitation of teachers to teach Syriac curricula and there are centers dedicated to the rehabilitation of teachers in Syriac.

Two months of intensive study, covering the schools of Derik, Koçerat and Berav

According to the program of the Pedagogy and Education Body, the teachers are scheduled to train the new curriculum for two months during the summer intensively to be able to teach the new curriculum.

Autonomous Administration also receives teachers who were teaching at the regime’s schools to qualify them to teach the new Autonomous Administration curricula after they were subjected to an interview and a competition to select the teachers who can teach the new curricula.

Teachers who are rehabilitated in the summer will cover all schools in Derik area, including Koçerat and Berav areas in the coming school year.

Where the curriculum is taught in Kurdish language in the Kurdish areas and in the Arabic language in the Arab-majority areas in al-Jazeera region, such as Arab villages.

There is no failure at the primary level

According to the educational system in Democratic Autonomous Administration, the student does not fail in the primary stage, whatever his/her level is low because Autonomous Administration believes that the student in the primary stage can develop its capabilities and develop in different areas, and failure of the student in a particular subject or several ones does not mean that they are unsuccessful.

The administrator in the Pedagogy and Education Body Manal Mohammed Amin that "the failure of students in the first stages of the curriculum negatively affects his psychology and therefore affect his behavior in the future as well, so during the primary stage, we study the student in all respects, and the primary objective of the education of students in the primary stage is the development of the student and building their character. "

It should be noted that Japan's State has no failure in its schools during the primary and preparatory stages (grades from grade 1 to 9) because the goal is to "educate, instill concepts and build character, not just education and indoctrination."

Overcoming difficulties

Manal Mohammed Amin talked about the courses that teachers receive and pointed out that they "receive intensive courses on the curricula and we have passed very advanced stages in teaching and we have more than 20 thousand teachers in al-Jazeera region who have undergone various courses in the new curricula over the past years."

Manal Mohammed Amin said, "Do not worry about the future of your children, we have more experiences to teach children than the experiences taught in the schools of the regime. In the early years, we faced great difficulties, but after years we went through these difficulties and obstacles."

Criticism to Autonomous Administration due to new curricula

Autonomous Administration has often been criticized by opponents over introducing new curricula into schools on the grounds that teachers are not specialized and  Autonomous Administration curricula are not recognized.

Where parties such as the parties of the Kurdish National Council and the parties connected with the Syrian regime have obstructed the teaching of these curricula, and accused the teachers of lack of experience and lack of rehabilitation to teach students.

But the teacher Mohammed Qadri, who holds a diploma in mathematics from the universities of the Syrian regime and worked in teaching for 12 years, underwent Autonomous Administration  courses and is now teaching mathematics in DAA’s curricula, told  Hawar news agency (ANHA) "Teaching the new curricula is a sound step, it could be imposed on the Syrian regime in future negotiations between Autonomous Administration and the regime to be included in the future constitution of Syria."

He pointed out that the teaching of new curricula is a duty of all teachers who were studying the curriculum of the regime. All former teachers and experts should participate in the teaching of new curricula. He appealed to the rest of the teachers to enroll in Autonomous Administration curricula.

Mohamed Qadri underwent a training course in Qamishlo city on ways to teach mathematics in Autonomous Administration curricula and is currently working in the team of teacher rehabilitation at Derik Directorate of Education.

Better than regime’s curricula

As for the level of the new curriculum, Mohammed Qadri said "The curriculum is generally good and better than the curriculum of the regime, but we still need more experience considering that the experience is still new and only a few years old, "and stressed that the training course he took in Qamishlo city was very good."

"Science is science in any language, for example, mathematics is the same in all languages, there is no difference between teaching it in Arabic or Kurdish, but Kurdish terms are new to us, and this is the only point of difference" Qadri said. We have been trained on scientific terms in the Kurdish language."

Qadri said "Today, for example, we studied the circle and in the course of it learned all the terms of the circle in Kurdish, Arabic and English, day after day we learn better, and because we have several years of experience in the primary and preparatory stages, the teachers are very good, Next year, because our experience will accumulate and our experience will evolve."

An Arab teacher compares Syrian regime’s curricula to Autonomous Administration’s

Aziz al-Aziz of the Arab component and receives training in Arabic on the teaching of new curricula, spoke to Hawar news agency (ANHA) on the new curriculum and compared them with the curriculum of the Syrian regime said, "The curriculum of the regime was oriented to a particular side with its own concepts, in the new curricula, there is somewhat diversity and the definition of diverse cultures and peoples, now I have a huge amount of information about different cultures.

Al-Aziz also called for the continuation of training courses in the new curricula. "People always need knowledge, training and new information, so these courses should continue for teachers.

(T/S)

ANHA