Qamishlo residents reject three Kurdish classes

The Syrian Ministry of Education’s recent decision to allocate three classes for the Kurdish language has sparked widespread reactions among educational and student circles and local residents. The decision has been met with criticism of the ministry’s justifications concerning the lack of scientific terminology, despite confirmation that comprehensive Kurdish dictionaries exist and can be used to translate curricula and teach them in students’ mother tongue.

In this context, Zuleikha Abdi, a member of the Educational Research Administration, affirmed that the latest executive instructions issued by the Ministry of Education contradict Decree No. 13, which had been expected to recognize Kurdish as an official language.

She pointed out that making Kurdish an elective subject and allocating only three classes does not meet the demands of the Kurdish people after a long history of struggle, particularly for students who have received their entire education in Kurdish since the first grade.

Zuleikha Abdi rejected the ministry’s claims regarding the lack of terminology for scientific subjects, affirming that Kurdish dictionaries capable of translating the curricula and enabling students to study in their mother tongue are available. She called on her fellow male and female teachers to continue defending their legitimate rights and preserving their identity.

Meanwhile, student Nisreen Hassan Assaf expressed her full commitment to education in her mother tongue, noting that she had studied in Kurdish since childhood and had not learned any other language besides it. She expressed hope that education in Kurdish would become an officially recognized reality throughout the country and be available across all fields of study.

In a related context, citizen Wasel Asaad said that the Kurdish people are one of the ancient and deeply rooted components of Syria. Therefore, he said, it is unacceptable to limit the Kurdish language to only three classes, because the language represents identity and culture.

Asaad explained that, over the course of the 14-year Syrian crisis, there had been a significant struggle to obtain the most basic rights, namely the right to learn in one’s mother tongue. He stressed the need to take these sacrifices into consideration and to officially include the Kurdish language in the Syrian Constitution.

For her part, ninth-grade student Avin Ibrahim confirmed her rejection of allocating such a limited number of instructional hours, describing it as insufficient for learning and mastering the language.

At the conclusion of her remarks, Avin Ibrahim called for the entire curriculum to be taught in Kurdish and for the Kurdish language to receive explicit and official constitutional recognition that guarantees the educational future of students.

ANHA