Students: we will not attend school until Kurdish language adopted 

Protests are continuing in Hasaka Governorate against the transitional government's decision to limit Kurdish language instruction in the governorate to just three classes per week during the current 2026–2027 academic year.

In this context, students from the "Yusuf al-Azma" School in the city of Derik staged a demonstration today.

Dêrik

The students gathered on their school grounds, where they sang the national anthem, "Ey Raqîb", before marching to the city's "Education Complex." They demanded the empowerment of the Kurdish language and called for it to be established as a primary language of instruction across all educational subjects.

The students chanted slogans such as "Our language is our identity," "No life without the Kurdish language," and "We want our language."

After gathering in front of the Education Complex, the students proceeded to the headquarters of the Derik District Directorate. There, they met with the District Director, Shiro Shro, who listened to their demands—which included official recognition of the Kurdish language, the teaching of all curricula in Kurdish, and a boycott of classes until such recognition is granted.

For his part, District Director Shiro Shro expressed his full support for the students' demands. In an address, he stated, "We support the students' right to study in their mother tongue, and we are working to ensure Kurdish becomes an official language in the new Syria." He added, "We will convey your voices and legitimate demands to the relevant authorities through legal channels."

Shro further remarked, "Our struggle continues to protect our language and to empower all of Syria's communities to learn and speak in their mother tongues at all stages of education."

The student protest concluded with chants upholding the right to the Kurdish mother tongue.

Girkê Legê

In a related development, students and their families from the Martyr Sardar School in the town of Rmelan rejected the Syrian Ministry of Education’s decision to allocate only three weekly class periods for Kurdish language instruction, demanding instead the right to education in their mother tongue.

The students and their families issued a statement, which was read aloud by student Hassan Ali.

The statement characterized the Ministry of Education’s decision—which restricts Kurdish language instruction to a limited number of hours—as an infringement upon the legitimate rights of the Kurdish people.

It asserted that the decision is educationally, socially, and democratically inappropriate and unacceptable, noting that it also violates the rights of peoples from a legal standpoint.

The statement called upon the Ministry of Education within the transitional government to reverse and amend the decision, demanding that all subjects in schools across Kurdish regions be taught in Kurdish and that Kurdish be established as an official language of instruction.

The students announced a boycott of classes, declaring: "We will not enter the schools until Kurdish becomes the language of instruction for all subjects."

For their part, students from the village of Sikra—located near the city of Girkê Legê—issued a statement in front of the village’s Martyr Shivan School. Read by student Svetlana Kajo, the statement rejected the Syrian Ministry of Education’s decision to allocate only three weekly class periods for Kurdish language instruction.

The students affirmed their commitment to their right to education in their mother tongue and called on the Syrian transitional government to reconsider the decision and guarantee their right to continue their education in Kurdish.

They urged the Syrian transitional government to address their demands and ensure their educational rights, asserting that they would not attend school unless their right to continue their education in the Kurdish language was guaranteed.

Sh-S

ANHA