Kurdish students reject restrictions on Kurdish-language education

Kurdish students and parents continue to express their rejection of the decision to reduce the number of hours allocated to Kurdish-language education and restrict it to a limited number of lessons.

In this context, Kurdish students voiced their opposition to the decision issued by the transitional government, stressing that education in one's mother tongue constitutes a fundamental right and a cornerstone of preserving cultural and historical identity that cannot be abandoned.

Speaking to ANHA Agency, student Fahima Bejo said, “We want to continue our studies in Kurdish. After the decision to stop teaching entirely in our language and reduce the number of hours allocated to it, we have faced a major problem.”

Fahima stressed that language serves as a fundamental means of learning about culture and geography. “They must not distance us from our language after all the years we have spent studying it. Our language represents our existence and identity, and abandoning it would mean that all our efforts had gone to waste,” she added.

Student Bir Yatan Said also rejected the decision, saying, “We absolutely reject the government's decision to reduce the hours of education in our language. We want to study in our mother tongue, not in any other language.”

She explained that the Kurdish language provides a window into their history, culture, geography and society, emphasizing the importance of continuing education in Kurdish to maintain younger generations' connection to their heritage and identity.

Meanwhile, student Aya al-Hasso opposed the change in the language of instruction, saying, “We reject this decision because it is unacceptable to everyone. I have been studying in Kurdish for nine years, and it is the language of our fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers.”

Aya added that studying in Kurdish helps them understand developments and events unfolding around them. She stressed that the Kurdish people's hopes rest on the current generation to fulfil their aspirations and dreams.

For her part, student Rousil Ahmad addressed the relevant authorities, calling on the transitional government to officially recognize the Kurdish language and grant Kurdish children their natural right to speak and learn in it on an equal footing with others.

Rousil said that education in one's mother tongue gives students a sense of pride and confidence and helps them pursue their future ambitions, including becoming doctors and scientists.

Concluding their remarks, student Hadeel Abbas reaffirmed the students' determination to maintain their opposition to being educated in another language.

“Today, the entire Kurdish people oppose studying in a language other than their mother tongue, and we will not accept this under any circumstances,” she said.

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ANHA