Hasakah residents reject decision to limit Kurdish Language teaching

Residents of Hasakah took to the streets today in a large demonstration protesting a decision by the Education Minister in the transitional government to limit the teaching of Kurdish to three classes per week.

The demonstration began at Sinalco Roundabout, with participants carrying signs reading, “Kurdish is a language of education and knowledge, not merely a language of communication,” “Our language is our identity,” and “Our language is our existence; there is no life without language.” Protesters also chanted, “There is no life without language.”

When the demonstrators reached Hamama Roundabout, they observed a minute of silence in tribute to those killed. A statement was then read by teacher Jinda Mohammed.

The statement said students in the Jazira have been receiving education in Kurdish, Arabic, Syriac and Armenian for around 14 years, from primary school through university. It warned that changing the education system and curricula within a single year would create major difficulties for students and undermine the stability of the educational process.

It added that developing the curricula currently used in the region took around 12 years, arguing that replacing them within a short period would be scientifically and educationally unfeasible and could harm students and their families.

The statement stressed that education in one’s mother tongue is a right of peoples, calling on the Ministry of Education and Syria’s transitional government to reconsider the decision and establish a framework that guarantees the continuation of education in Kurdish while respecting the rights of all communities.

It further stressed that language is a fundamental part of peoples’ identity and existence, urging the government to uphold its commitments to protecting the rights of different communities and address the decision in a way that guarantees justice, equality and the right to education in one’s mother tongue.

a.k

ANHA