Students in Girkê Legê: we want to continue our education in Kurdish language

A number of female students in the city of Girkê Legê, in al-Jazira region, expressed their rejection of the Education and Teaching Ministry’s decision to allocate three weekly classes to the Kurdish language. They stressed that the decision affects their educational path and called for students’ voices to be heard and their right to continue their education in their mother tongue to be guaranteed.

Fifteen-year-old student Ilan Ahmad, who is in the tenth grade, said that she has been studying in Kurdish for nine years. She pointed out that suddenly switching to studying in Arabic after years of education in Kurdish would be difficult for her. She added that the Kurdish language represents part of their existence and identity, and that changing the language of education would affect “our academic future.”

For her part, Sidra Hussein, a tenth-grade student, said that they reject the decision to reduce Kurdish-language classes, and that three classes per week are not enough for them to continue their education in their mother tongue.

Sidra explained that she has been studying in Kurdish since the first grade. She called for education in Kurdish to continue through the university level and for the Kurdish language to receive official recognition, stressing that students have the right to learn and speak their language.

In turn, Delfin Yusuf, 14, an eighth-grade student, said that she hopes education in Kurdish will continue through the university level, considering it the right of every people to be educated in their own language.

Delfin called on the Ministry of Education and Teaching to listen to the students’ demands and take them into consideration, stressing their attachment to their Kurdish language as part of their existence and identity.

In the same context, Siham Khalaf, 14, said that she has been studying in Kurdish from the beginning, pointing out that a sudden transition to studying in Arabic would pose a major difficulty “for us students and for our academic future.”

Siham called for students to continue being taught in Kurdish through the university level, stressing that their demands are centered on preserving their right to education in their mother tongue and preventing any impact on their academic path.

ANHA