Regime shuts schools over teaching in Kurdish north Syria

(Reporting by Mohamed Al Hussein; Translation by Yusra Ahmed)

Imposing Kurdish language in schools in Hasaka in areas controlled by the Democratic Union Party (PYD) has came to light again, amid fears of families for their children’s future and the rightfulness of the decision. 

Mahmoud Al-Ahmad, an activist and a teacher said to Zaman al-Wasl that confusion over the issue of teaching in Kurdish language has reached the top last week when the Syrian regime’s Ministry of Education to cease teaching of basic stage in 30 schools controlled by the PYD in Qamishli city, because of the party’s decision to teach in Kurdish language.

Al-Ahmed detailed that students were divided at a school into the classes of Kurds or for Arabs, and forced Kurdish students from grade-1 to grade-3 to study the Kurdish curriculum, and forced lessons of Kurdish language for Arab students who were assigned to be taught the Syrian regime’s curriculum. 

The teacher reported that the regime’s Directorate of Education demanded all teaching staff of closed schools to daily attend and sign at 12:00 noon at schools of Al-Nabigha Thoniani and Zaki al-Arsuzi.

The first reaction of the PYD’s Education directorate was announced in a press conference after the closure of schools directly and declared that all teachers who would be dismissed from schools of the Syrian regime would be employed in areas under PYD’s control with full rights of salaries and other dues like any teacher in the party’s schools. 

In regard to book with pictures of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the official said that pictures of books surfaced on the social media were from the curriculum taught in Northern Iraq and not the curriculum for Syria, pointing out that the curriculum has not been delivered to the students yet. In regard last year's Kurdish language curriculum he explained that they were printed in Turkey and dedicated to teaching in the Kurdish areas there.

the self-management of (PYD) has printed more than 40 thousand books in the Kurdish language, and trained about 2600 teachers in private institutes in the cities and towns of Hasaka, Qahtaniyah, Mabada, Malikia, Ras al-Ain, assiyeh, and a Amooda, column and Abu Rasin. 

The party’s administration adopted a decision to teach the Kurdish language in areas under its control in Northern Syria for the first 3 grades only while the regime’s curriculum would be taught for grade-4 till the secondary stage, in addition of some Kurdish, Syriac and other foreign languages.

Journalist Majd al-Obeidi, told Zaman al-Wasl that Arabs and Assyrians will be taught in their mother tounge and then the Kurdish language would be introduced. Principles of the two religions Yazidi and Christian would be taught besides the Islamic Religion. 

The journalist added that Kurds must leave learning in Kurdish language optionally, as forcing others to particular curriculum or language would be similar to Baath Party's practices. He advised that PYD instead of occupying the regime’s schools and teach Kurdish curriculum, it should build new schools for that purpose, and leave the choice to families to decide where to go. He mentioned that many Kurdish families have taken their children out of party's Kurdish school because they worried about their future if they were taught in the PYD’s schools. 

The Democratic Union Party (PYD), at the beginning of 2014, had controlled and announced the self-management of Northern Syria regions, and established the bodies acting on behalf of the ministries in the region. It founded its army, courts and prisons, and the imposed a decision to recruit young people between 18-30 years of fighting by its side