Students and teachers in Hasakah call for expanded Kurdish-Language education

Following the transitional government’s decision on August 27, 2026, to amend the executive regulations of Syria’s Ministry of Education and Teaching—which recognized Kurdish as a national language—our agency spoke to several students and teachers about the decision and its implications for reducing the number of hours allocated to Kurdish-language education.

Student Ivara Omar said students who have received their education in Kurdish cannot easily switch to studying in Arabic. She stressed that their language represents their identity and rejected any decision that restricts its use in education.

Student Ruwaida Farhan also expressed her opposition to reducing Kurdish-language instruction to three hours per week, saying that studying in one’s mother tongue is a legitimate right for Kurdish students, particularly as many of them have been educated in Kurdish for years.

Ruwaida added that switching to Arabic-language education would pose significant difficulties for students after years of studying in Kurdish. She called on the transitional government to repeal the decision to reduce the hours and guarantee Kurdish students’ right to study in their mother tongue.

She noted that the existence of Kurdish-language schools, universities, teaching staff and curricula provides the necessary foundations for continuing education in Kurdish. She also said preserving this right honors the sacrifices of those who lost their lives defending Kurdish identity.

She called on the transitional government to “give us our full rights in our language, repeal the decision to reduce the hours, and affirm Kurdish students’ right to study in their mother tongue.”

Kurdish-language teacher Mohammad Hajo said the decision to reduce Kurdish-language instruction at the primary level to three hours per week had been met with widespread rejection, as the allocated time was insufficient to maintain and develop the quality of Kurdish-language education.

Hajo added that the experience of Kurdish-language education over the past years had established a foundation of curricula and qualified teaching staff.

He called for the decision to be reconsidered, Kurdish to be recognized in the Syrian Constitution, and Kurdish-language education to be expanded to cover different educational levels and academic and literary fields, extending through secondary and university education.

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ANHA