"Kurdish Became the Second Language," They Said: Now Rojava Takes to the Streets Over Three-Hour Weekly Kurdish Decision
RastinewsFollowing the dissolution of the SDF in Syria and the integration process with Damascus, the practical implementation of the regulation announced under the claim that "Kurdish became the second language" has now become clear. Syria's Ministry of Education added Kurdish to the curriculum as a "national language," but limited instruction to three lessons and one activity hour per week. Teachers, students and parents took to the streets in seven cities across North and East Syria in protest against the decision.
Qamişlo (Rastî) – A decision issued by Syria's Ministry of Education on August 27 regarding how Kurdish will be taught in schools has sparked debate in North and East Syria.
Under decision No. 2068/943, Kurdish will be added to the curriculum as a "national language" in public and private schools in regions with a significant Kurdish population.
Kurdish will be taught for three lessons per week at all education levels, with the grade counted toward students' overall average. In addition, one hour of Kurdish activity class will be held per week.
In the first academic year of the transition period, students will be permitted to take social studies, history, geography and philosophy classes in either Arabic or Kurdish.
"Second language" debate resurfaces
The decision has also revived the debate — pursued since the agreement between Damascus and the SDF — over claims that "Kurdish has been recognized as Syria's second language."
Following the dissolution of the SDF and Mazlum Abdi's assumption of a role within the Damascus administration, some media outlets and social media accounts had announced that Kurdish had become Syria's "second language" in the new period.
In response, journalists and commentators who noted that the regulation did not grant Kurdish the status of a second official language or a general language of instruction, and that it essentially provided for Kurdish to be taught as a subject in certain regions, had faced criticism.
The implementation decision published on August 27 made the core distinction in this debate visible.
The ministry's decision defines Kurdish as a "national language"; however, it does not establish Kurdish as a second official language of instruction alongside Arabic across Syria.
It is precisely for this reason that objections are now rising from within the region.
Protests in seven cities
Teachers, students and parents held protests in Qamişlo, Hesekê, Dêrik, Amûdê, Dirbêsiyê, Tirbespî and Girkê Legê against the reduction of Kurdish to a few hours of class per week.
At the demonstrations in Qamişlo, it was emphasized that education in one's mother tongue and treating a language as a "subject" for a few hours a week are not the same thing.
In Hesekê, teachers who gathered in front of the Education Directorate carried banners reading "There is no life without language" and "Kurdish is our identity."
At the center of the teachers' objection lies the future of the existing education system.
Educators, noting that subjects ranging from mathematics to science are currently taught in Kurdish in the region, say that reducing Kurdish to a mere language class alone would amount to a step back from the existing mother-tongue education system.
Rojava University also objected
Rojava University also reacted to the decision.
The university stated that Kurdish is not a language used only in the field of language and literature, but is used as a language of instruction in various fields including mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering and health sciences.
The university administration warned that changing the language of instruction would directly affect students' learning process, and called for a bilingual or multilingual education system in which Kurdish and Arabic are not alternatives to one another.
The core of the debate: Will Kurdish be a subject, or a language of instruction?
Damascus's August 27 decision brings a significant change in that it removes Kurdish from the status of a banned language and incorporates it into the official curriculum.
However, the objection in North and East Syria centers on another point:
For students who have received education in Kurdish in the region for years, the issue is not whether Kurdish is "taught" in school, but whether education can continue to be conducted in Kurdish.
This was also the objection raised months ago in the debate over "Kurdish became the second language."
Teachers, students and parents who took to the streets following the August 27 decision are now posing the same question to the Damascus administration:
Will Kurdish only be a subject that is taught, or will it remain the language in which Kurdish children's educ