Demonstration in Tel Tamr rejects limiting Kurdish language to 3 classes weekly 

The city of Tel Tamr in Hasakah province witnessed a mass demonstration today in rejection of the Education Ministry’s decision to allocate three weekly classes for teaching Kurdish. Demonstrators called for expanding Kurdish language education and adopting it as a primary national language in curricula and educational institutions alongside Arabic.

The demonstration began in front of the Martyrs’ Families Council in the city center, with residents and representatives of various community groups taking part. Participants carried banners expressing their rejection of the decision and called for the right of children in the area to receive education in their mother tongue and for greater inclusion of Kurdish in school curricula.

The demonstrators marched through the city’s main streets before reaching the end of Palestine Street, where the march turned into a protest gathering.

During the gathering, teacher Hevidar Mohammed Ali delivered a speech, stressing that language is not merely a means of communication but an essential part of a community’s identity, memory and culture.

She emphasized that children’s right to learn in their mother tongue must be guaranteed within the educational process.

She noted that allocating only three weekly classes to Kurdish does not meet students’ needs or provide sufficient opportunity to learn their language.

She called for expanding Kurdish language instruction and adopting it as a primary language in educational institutions alongside Arabic.

Hevidar Mohammed Ali stressed that improving education should be based on respect for Syria’s linguistic and cultural diversity and should give students the opportunity to study in their mother tongue.

She said recognizing linguistic rights is an essential step toward building a more equitable and inclusive education system.

She also stressed the need for education policies that take into account the particularities of local communities and protect future generations’ right to learn and preserve their language.

She called on the relevant authorities to listen to the demands of residents and teachers and work toward a framework that ensures the presence of Kurdish in education alongside Arabic.

At the end of the protest, participants renewed their calls for the decision to be reconsidered, for Kurdish language instruction to be expanded, and for students’ right to learn in their mother tongue to be guaranteed in line with Syria’s linguistic and cultural diversity.

A-H

ANHA