Students, parents in Alyan reject limits on Kurdish Education

Kurdish students and their families across Syria continue to demand the reversal of the Syrian transitional government's Ministry of Education decision to reduce Kurdish-language instruction and the provision of a complete curriculum in Kurdish, ensuring that students can continue their education in their mother tongue and develop their language skills.

In this context, several students and their parents in the Alyan area, in the countryside of Çil Axa in the Jazira, told ANHA agency they were dissatisfied with the decision, calling on the Ministry of Education to reverse it and guarantee their right to receive education in Kurdish.

Students: Our Kurdish Language Is Part of Our Identity and Existence

Student Nermin Sheikho considers the Kurdish language a fundamental pillar of their identity, stressing their right to learn in Kurdish in their own homeland. She criticized the allocation of only three lessons a week, saying this was insufficient to master the language, particularly as she had studied in Kurdish since childhood and wished to continue her university education in the language.

Sheikho called on the Ministry of Education to incorporate Kurdish into the education system and give it the status it deserves. She stressed the need to guarantee students' right to learn in their mother tongue and preserve their linguistic heritage for future generations.

Student Raman Khalil, for his part, affirmed that learning in one's mother tongue was a natural right, just as it was for other peoples. He explained that Kurdish was the language in which they had grown up and an essential part of their lives, adding that no one had the right to prevent them from using it.

Student Shams Hussein also rejected limiting Kurdish-language instruction to three lessons a week, describing the allotted time as far too short, particularly given that they had studied in Kurdish from the beginning of their education.

“We are not against any language, and we want to learn all languages, but alongside our primary language, Kurdish, because it is our identity,” she said.

Student Gulistan Sanjo, meanwhile, stressed that Kurdish people, like other peoples, had the right to learn their mother tongue and develop their educational skills in it, describing this as a natural right.

She called on the Ministry of Education to listen to their demands and revoke the decision limiting Kurdish-language instruction to just three lessons a week. She explained that the allocated lessons were insufficient and did not meet their aspirations to learn and develop through their language.

Parents: A Pluralistic Syria Begins with Recognizing the Rights of All Its Communities

In the same context, Abdulkarim Shukr stressed that Syria was a country of diverse ethnicities, religions and cultures. He emphasized that building a democratic future could not be achieved by imposing a single language, but rather by recognizing this diversity and guaranteeing equal cultural and linguistic rights for all communities.

“We believe in democracy, equality and justice, so we do not oppose learning any language. Our demands are not directed against any language. We are simply calling for our natural and fundamental right as Kurds to learn, speak and express ourselves in our mother tongue, just like other peoples,” Shukr said.

Shukr called on the Ministry of Education to revoke its decision, which he said undermined the status of the Kurdish language. He stressed that undermining their language meant undermining their existence and national identity, adding that they and their children had the right to learn and live in their language and culture.

Hamza Younes, for his part, stressed that respecting Kurdish and the languages of Syria's other communities was essential to strengthening coexistence and equality. He described the Ministry of Education's decision to allocate only three lessons a week to Kurdish as an exclusionary approach that rejected pluralism, which he said was entirely unacceptable.

Concluding his remarks, Younes called on the Syrian transitional government's Ministry of Education to reverse its decision to limit Kurdish-language instruction to three lessons a week and establish a new mechanism to ensure adequate Kurdish-language education.

He stressed that building a democratic and pluralistic Syria required respect for the identity of its people and the protection of their linguistic, cultural and constitutional rights.

ANHA