Lawyer stresses role of mother-tongue education in protecting identity

Calls to guarantee the right to mother-tongue education continue, as it is considered essential to preserving cultural identity and developing students’ abilities. These demands come amid concerns about the impact of reducing the presence of the Kurdish language in schools on academic achievement and younger generations’ connection to their language and culture.

In this context, lawyer Ali Mohammed Iskan, a specialist in cultural and civil rights and human rights, told our agency that mother-tongue education is a fundamental issue linked to peoples’ identity and historical and cultural heritage.

He stressed the need to constitutionally guarantee education in Kurdish and ensure that it is not limited to a few lessons that fail to meet students’ needs.

Iskan explained that the importance of mother-tongue education goes beyond acquiring knowledge to include developing students’ educational, cultural, psychological and social abilities. It helps them understand information, comprehend concepts, express themselves, engage in discussions and develop analytical skills.

He added that learning in one’s mother tongue boosts self-confidence and ensures students’ active participation. It also reduces the barriers they may face when receiving education in an unfamiliar language, allowing them to focus on understanding knowledge and developing their abilities rather than struggling to overcome language difficulties.

On the cultural level, Iskan explained that the mother tongue carries peoples’ identity and historical memory. Education in one’s mother tongue strengthens students’ understanding of their history and culture and fosters a sense of belonging, appreciation and respect. He also highlighted its role in developing a psychologically and socially balanced personality by reinforcing students’ sense that their identity is recognized.

On academic achievement, he explained that mother-tongue education helps students learn to read and write and develop their thinking and life skills, as it uses a language they already know rather than a new language they must learn and become familiar with. This reduces the time needed to understand information and acquire skills.

He added: “Instead of focusing on learning a new language, students develop their skills more rapidly because they are learning in their mother tongue. This helps them gain a broader understanding, learn to read and write more easily, and develop their life and thinking skills.”

Iskan warned of the consequences of restricting Kurdish-language instruction to specific lessons, areas and schools. He said this raises concerns among parents and students about the future of their language and cultural identity and could return education to the conditions that prevailed before the Syrian crisis.

He noted that the declining presence of Kurdish in education could reduce interest in the language among families and institutions and lead to its use becoming less common within society as other languages gain ground. This, in turn, could weaken its status as a cultural, civilizational and intellectual value among younger generations.

Iskan referred to several international instruments that emphasize the importance of educating children in their mother tongue, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities.

He highlighted provisions addressing respect for children’s cultural identity and language, protection of minority members’ right to use their language, and access to opportunities to learn that language or receive education in it.

Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that a child’s education should aim to develop respect for the child’s cultural identity and language. Article 30 stipulates that a child belonging to a minority must not be denied the right to enjoy their own culture or use their own language.

In addition, Article 4(3) of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities calls on states to take appropriate measures to ensure that minority members have adequate opportunities to learn their mother tongue or receive education in it. Article 4(4) also calls for educational measures that encourage knowledge of minorities’ history, traditions, language and culture.

Iskan emphasized that mother-tongue education is essential to protecting identity and building students’ future. He said that allocating three lessons per week to the mother tongue is insufficient to teach various subjects in that language, adding that the number of lessons should be determined by educational needs rather than political positions or secondary considerations.

He called for the adoption of educational and scientific standards that ensure high-quality, comprehensive education, covering speaking, reading, writing and mathematics within a curriculum extending across all academic stages.

He also called for the right to education in Kurdish to be enshrined in a permanent constitution and guaranteed to students in Kurdish areas and other parts of Syria.

Iskan concluded by stressing that guaranteeing education in Kurdish is a shared responsibility requiring collective efforts to secure a better future for Kurdish students.

He urged parents to monitor their children’s academic progress in their mother tongue, describing it as a fundamental pillar of preserving their identity and building their future.

a.k

ANHA