Mazloum Abdi discusses implementation of Kurdish language decree with education minister

Presidential adviser Mazloum Abdi met yesterday with the Minister of Education and Teaching, Mohammad Abdulrahman Turko, and his deputies, in the presence of Kurdish politician Ilham Ahmed.

The meeting focused particularly on the issue of education in the Kurdish language, alongside the completion of integration procedures in the education sector.

According to the Ministry of Education and Teaching, the meeting addressed mechanisms for implementing Presidential Decree No. 13 of 2026, providing school textbooks in Kurdish, recruiting specialised Kurdish-language teachers, and completing integration files in the education sector.

The meeting comes at a time when education in the Kurdish language is at the forefront of discussions on implementing Presidential Decree No. 13, following the Ministry of Education and Teaching’s decision issued on 27 August, which limited Kurdish-language instruction to three classes per week in public schools in Kurdish-majority areas.

Meanwhile, preliminary statistics published today by ANHA agency, revealed that 185,213 male and female students had registered to study in Kurdish across the governorates of Hasakah, Aleppo, Damascus, and Hama. The figure includes 81,333 students in Hasakah, 53,108 in Kobani, 47,044 in Afrin, and 3,728 in Damascus and Hama.

Sources confirmed that the figures are preliminary and may increase, as registration has not yet been completed in a number of schools.

This comes amid continued opposition to limiting education in Kurdish to three classes per week. Students and their families are calling for education in their mother tongue to continue, noting that they have received their education in Kurdish in schools and rejecting a transition to a system that restricts the number of hours taught in the language.

Today, Zuleikha Abdi, an administrator at the Academy of Educational Research, called for the decision to limit Kurdish-language instruction to three classes per week to be reconsidered. She added that what is needed is a complete Kurdish-language curriculum that allows Kurdish to be used to teach various literary and scientific subjects, while ensuring the continuation of students’ education and protecting the rights of teaching staff.

Zuleikha said that allocating three classes per week does not take into account the circumstances of students who have received their education in Kurdish for years. She also highlighted the need to establish a clear legal and educational framework to determine the status of male and female teachers who had been responsible for teaching curricula in Kurdish.

In the same context, Kurdish politician Ilham Ahmed had previously stressed that education in Kurdish was among the key issues discussed during meetings in Damascus concerning the integration process. In earlier remarks, she noted that the Kurdish demand was for Kurdish to become an official language of instruction in schools, rather than merely a subject taught for a limited number of hours.

The issue of basic education coincides with separate discussions on integrating higher education institutions in Rojava into Syria’s education system. Yesterday, Abdi met with the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Marwan al-Halabi, to discuss mechanisms for integrating the colleges of Rojava, Kobani, and Raqqa universities, recognising their degrees, and regulating the status of students and staff. Ilham Ahmed and the minister’s deputies were also present, according to the Ministry of Higher Education.

Sh-S

ANHA