Calls in Hasakah for full Kurdish-Language curriculum

Various segments of society in Hasakah said that allocating three weekly classes to the Kurdish language “does not meet the needs of generations that studied in their mother tongue for 14 years,” stressing that they will continue their demands and struggle until a comprehensive curriculum is approved and that they will not give up this right.

Human rights lawyer Mohammad Amin Dawood Mamo said that Presidential Decree No. 13 “laid the foundation for the Kurdish language and affirmed the distinctiveness of Kurdish areas,” noting that schools have now begun teaching the Kurdish language in Kurdish areas, in addition to preparations to open schools in other areas of Syria, including Hama and the capital, Damascus.

Mamo added that “several problems have emerged during the past period, including some students being beaten by teachers who violated the Education Ministry’s instructions, which indicates the continued mentality of the Baath Party.”

He continued: “Three Kurdish-language classes are not enough. As human rights activists and teachers, we will not stop demanding the establishment of a complete curriculum in the Kurdish language.”

He explained that a student who has studied in their mother tongue for 14 years “will not be able to switch to studying in Arabic within a single year,” pointing out that education in the areas administered by the Autonomous Administration “did not deprive any component of its right to learn in its mother tongue.”

For his part, Adnan Bozni, a lecturer at Rojava University, said that allocating only three classes “is not consistent with what was agreed upon regarding the distinctiveness of Kurdish areas and recognition of the Kurdish language.”

He added: “It is possible to add an Arabic-language class to enable students to learn and speak Arabic, but what is most important to us is that the entire curriculum be in the Kurdish language.”

Bozni noted that the way some teachers deal with mother-tongue education “with the mentality of the previous period” reflects “the continued exclusionary and racist ideas that prevailed under the former regime.”

For her part, student Birvan Ismail said that students “are demanding education in their mother tongue and do not accept being limited to three Kurdish-language classes,” stressing their commitment to the demand for a complete curriculum.

She explained: “Students who studied in Kurdish up to the tenth grade will not be able to continue their education in another language. Our demands for education in our mother tongue will continue, and the students will not give up this right.

ANHA