Kobani teachers: we demand that all school subjects be taught in Kurdish

Teachers in the city of Kobani issued a statement today regarding the decision of the Ministry of Education in the Syrian transitional government concerning the teaching of the Kurdish language. The decision stipulates allocating a limited number of weekly lessons to teaching Kurdish. The teachers consider that teaching Kurdish merely as a school subject does not fulfill the right of the region’s children to receive education in their mother tongue.

The statement was read at Martyr Sido School in Kobani by Kurdish-language teacher Ilham Misko. The teachers stated that incorporating the Kurdish language into the educational curriculum represents a positive step, but they believe it does not meet the aspirations of the Kurdish people regarding education in their mother tongue.

The statement said that teaching Kurdish for several hours each week and guaranteeing the right of Kurds to receive education in their mother tongue “are not the same thing,” stressing that the current step should be the beginning of a broader language and education policy.

The statement noted that Kurdish is neither a foreign nor an optional language, but a living language that carries the history, culture, memory, and identity of Kurdish society. Therefore, restricting it to a limited number of hours and optional lessons does not fulfill the Kurdish community’s right to education in its mother tongue.

The statement called for the adoption of an educational system that enables Kurdish children to receive their education in their mother tongue, particularly in Kobani, Afrin, and other areas with high concentrations of Kurdish residents. It stressed that this does not mean excluding other languages or communities in Syria.

The teachers affirmed that linguistic and cultural diversity is a reality of Syrian society, emphasizing the need to build a democratic and pluralistic education system that guarantees all communities the right to preserve and learn in their mother tongues. They said that equal recognition of different languages and identities would contribute to building a shared Syrian society.

The teachers welcomed the steps taken in recent years to allow different communities to express themselves in their mother tongues and receive education in those languages. However, they considered that the current stage requires moving toward a more advanced phase.

They called for adopting Kurdish as a language of instruction rather than merely teaching it as a school subject, as well as guaranteeing the right to education in the mother tongue through constitutional, legal, and institutional safeguards. They also called for opening a broad dialogue with representatives of the Kurdish community, educators, language experts, and relevant authorities.

The teachers concluded their statement by emphasizing that their goal is not limited to teaching the Kurdish language in schools, but rather to enabling Kurdish children to receive their education in Kurdish. They said that a Syria in which Kurdish, Arabic, Syriac, and other languages can exist freely and maintain their presence would, in their words, be “a more democratic, just, and stronger Syria.

ANHA