Ongoing student protests: Kurdish language is right in education, identity, and constitution

Activities rejecting the decision issued by the Ministry of Education in the Syrian transitional government on 27 August regarding the Kurdish language continue. The decision limits Kurdish-language instruction in schools to just three classes per week. In this context, the city of Qamishlo in the Jazira region witnessed four student activities today.

Students submit a letter outlining their demands to the director of the Qamishlo area.

In the first activity, students from Martyr Kabar and Sate’ al-Husri schools gathered in front of the Qamishlo Area Directorate in the city. Teacher Rojin Mohammad read out a statement on behalf of the students, while a letter was also handed to the director of the Qamishlo area, Jihan Hussam.

The letter outlined the students’ aspirations and demands concerning the linguistic and cultural rights of the Kurdish people in Syria, based on their vision of a future Syria as a state for all its citizens, founded on equal citizenship and recognition of national, cultural, and linguistic diversity.

The letter pointed out that Kurds in Syria had suffered for decades from policies that restricted the use of their language and culture in education, public life, and official institutions. It stressed that the new phase provides an opportunity to address these issues within a clear constitutional and legal framework.

The students called for recognition of Kurdish as an official language alongside Arabic in Syria, in line with the country’s national and linguistic diversity, and for guaranteeing the right to use Kurdish in public institutions and administrations, particularly in areas where Kurds constitute a large proportion of the population.

The demands also included guaranteeing the right to education in Kurdish and allowing it to be taught in schools and universities, as well as preparing the necessary curricula and educational books for this purpose. They also called for protecting Kurdish culture, heritage, and identity, and supporting literature, arts, media, and cultural institutions operating in the Kurdish language.

The students further called for guaranteeing the constitutional and legal rights of Kurds within a unified Syrian state, on the basis of full equality among all citizens and components, and for involving representatives of Syria’s various components, including Kurds, in drafting the constitution and building state institutions in a manner that ensures fair representation and equal rights for all.

The letter stressed that these demands are not directed against any other Syrian component and do not seek to diminish anyone’s rights. Rather, they are based on the principle that recognising linguistic and cultural diversity is part of building a stable and democratic state that respects all its citizens.

The students stressed that Syria’s future should be built through dialogue, mutual recognition, and equal rights, and that language and culture are not causes of division but part of the richness of Syria’s diverse society. They called on the area director to listen to their demands and convey them to the relevant authorities, and to support political and constitutional efforts aimed at guaranteeing the linguistic and cultural rights of all Syrians, foremost among them the Kurdish people’s right to recognition of their language and culture.

Every people preserves its identity, culture, and history through its language.

In another activity, students from Hussein Haji Primary School in the Maysaloun neighbourhood of Qamishlo issued a statement in the presence of dozens of male and female students, who held up banners affirming that the Kurdish language is their identity. The statement was read in both Kurdish and Arabic by students Rousil Ramadan and Lavin Farhad.

The statement stressed that every people and nation preserves its identity, culture, and history through its language, noting that the Kurdish people have a heritage dating back thousands of years and a rich language whose roots go back to the cuneiform language, which was used thousands of years ago to record the history, civilisation, cultures, and identities of peoples.

The statement addressed the Kurdish language in its Kurmanji and Sorani dialects, noting that it contains more than 917,000 words and ranks 18th among the world’s languages.

The students noted that Kurdish children in Rojava have been receiving education in their mother tongue for the past 15 years, from kindergarten through university, in the fields of science and literature, and are building their future in their mother tongue. They said that the Ministry of Education’s decision to limit Kurdish-language instruction to three classes per week had led to the emergence of problems, adding that this once again demonstrates that the Kurdish people as a whole are being targeted.

Call for a complete curriculum in Kurdish

In a third activity, students and teachers from Hattin and Ahmad Marioud schools in Qamishlo issued a statement expressing their dissatisfaction with the decision to limit Kurdish-language instruction to three classes per week, stressing their demand for a complete curriculum in Kurdish.

The students and teachers noted that the mother tongue constitutes the cultural identity and historical background of the Kurdish people, stressing the need to preserve and protect it in accordance with constitutional rights and laws, and to oppose any decision that does not serve the interests of education in the mother tongue or marginalises it.

The statement was read in both Kurdish and Arabic in front of Ahmad Marioud School by student Mahmoud Hussein. It included the students’ rejection of what they described as arbitrary and discriminatory decisions imposed by the transitional government and its educational authorities against them and their educational environment.

The students considered what they are experiencing to be a systematic attempt to strip them of their basic rights and impose a coercive ideological vision on their minds and future. They stressed that among these violations is depriving them of education in their mother tongue and stripping their communities of their identity.

They also pointed to the abolition of the multilingual education system, which had guaranteed all components the right to learn in their mother tongue, explaining that depriving Kurds of education in their language and reducing Kurdish to three classes constitutes a restriction and limitation of the language.

The students condemned what they described as the deliberate disregard by the Ministry of Education for the widespread boycott they have been carrying out since the beginning of the academic year. They called on the Minister of Education and Teaching to assume his responsibility and visit the region to meet with representatives of the student movement.

The students said that this disregard has created a sense among them that the government is showing no interest in addressing the outstanding issues. They held the Minister of Education and Teaching and the transitional government morally responsible for the consequences of depriving them of educational attainment.

In conclusion, the statement called on all students to prepare for a broad phase of peaceful struggle and to boycott discriminatory policies in schools, with the aim of making their voices heard and prompting the ministry to respond to their legal and legitimate demands.

Deiruna Aghê students call for amendment of the Ministry of Education’s decision

In the same context, students and their parents in the village of Deiruna Aghê, in the Alyan area of the countryside of Çil Agha, issued a statement addressed to the Ministry of Education and Teaching in the transitional government, the Hassakah Provincial Education Directorate, and the administration of schools in the city of Çil Agha.

The statement was read by student Shilan Omar in front of the village’s primary school, in the presence of students and their parents.

The statement stressed that the students have been studying in Kurdish for 14 years, from the first grade through university, receiving their education in their mother tongue. It explained that the right to education in one’s mother tongue is a universal right and that United Nations documents have recognised this right for all peoples.

The statement said that the decision by the Ministry of Education and Teaching in the transitional government to limit Kurdish-language instruction to only a few hours per week is unjust towards the Kurdish people and students, and constitutes an attempt to deprive the Kurdish people of this right, stressing that this is completely unacceptable.

The statement stressed that no power or institution can abolish the rights of peoples and that the decision violates the law and human rights.

The students affirmed that they are not opposed to any language, but are demanding their right, as Kurds, to learn and receive education in their Kurdish language. They noted that Kurdish is a historic and ancient language, rich both linguistically and literarily, and that very heavy sacrifices have been made to protect it.

The students and parents called on the school administrations in Çil Agha to convey their voice to the Ministry of Education and Teaching and take their situation as students into consideration, stressing that they have been studying in Kurdish for 14 years.

They also called for the decision concerning the Kurdish language to be changed and for all educational stages in schools to be conducted in Kurdish.

Tal Maarouf and Sakhal students: Education in our mother tongue is our legitimate right

Students and residents of Tal Maarouf town and Sakhal village stressed that education in the mother tongue is essential and fundamental, declaring their commitment to their language and its protection.

In the same context, residents and students of Tal Maarouf town and Sakhal village, both affiliated with the city of Tirbespiyê, issued separate statements to the public. Residents and students held up banners calling for official recognition of the mother tongue. The statement in Tal Maarouf was read by Mohammad Khalo, while Roda Mohammad read the statement from Sakhal village.

In the two statements, the students expressed their rejection of the Ministry of Education’s decision concerning the Kurdish language and the reduction of Kurdish-language classes in schools.

The two statements stressed: “Our language is rich and sufficient, both literarily and scientifically. We already study in our language, and our demand is to continue our education in our mother tongue because this is our legitimate right.”

The two statements concluded by saying: “We call on the relevant authorities to intervene swiftly and change this decision. This is the students’ demand.”

Sh-S

ANHA