Rojava University students call for university’s academic and administrative independence

Students from the Faculties of Education and Environmental Architecture Engineering at Rojava University in Qamishlo issued a statement to the public today regarding the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research’s approaches towards Rojava University, in the presence of university students and professors.

The statement was read in Arabic by Gulda  Suleiman, a student at the Faculty of Education, and in Kurdish by Jiyan Arslan, a student of Environmental Architecture Engineering.

The statement read: “On behalf of the students of the Faculties of Education and Environmental Architecture Engineering at Rojava University, and based on our belief that language is not merely a means of communication, but an integral part of a person’s identity, memory and culture, we reaffirm our commitment to our right to education in our mother tongue, the Kurdish language, as an inherent linguistic, educational and cultural right. At the same time, we affirm our belief in the right of all components to preserve their languages and cultures and to receive education in them, ensuring equality and mutual respect among members of Syrian society.”

The statement stressed that defending their language and their right to education in it does not mean undermining Arabic or any other language. It added: “Rather, it stems from our conviction that respect for our language begins with respect for the languages of others, and that linguistic and cultural diversity is a human and national treasure that must be preserved and strengthened. Arabic is an identity and culture for its speakers, and Kurdish is an identity and culture for its speakers. Every component has the right to preserve its cultural and linguistic distinctiveness within a framework of equal rights and coexistence.”

The statement continued: “In fulfilment of our responsibility as university students, we affirm that education is a fundamental right and that a university is not merely an institution that awards degrees, but a key pillar in building society, preparing scientific and educational professionals, and equipping generations capable of improving their circumstances and contributing to their development.”

The statement affirmed the students’ commitment to Rojava University’s right to maintain its academic and administrative independence and to preserve all its faculties and academic departments in their current form. They rejected the merger of its academic departments with universities located outside the region, given the potential consequences for the future of university education, the continuity of academic specialisations, and the university’s ability to fulfil its mission to serve its community.

The statement added: “Our region is in urgent need of its university, the continuation of all its academic and educational departments, and the graduation of students in various specialisations so that they can serve their community and develop its educational, cultural and social institutions. Preserving this university also means safeguarding higher education opportunities for students and strengthening the region’s ability to prepare qualified professionals from among its own people, rather than forcing them to move to other governorates to continue their studies or seek academic opportunities that may not be available locally.”

The statement pointed out that merging academic departments with other universities should not be a substitute for developing and supporting the university or recognising its distinct identity and the needs of its community. It stressed that the priority should be to strengthen its scientific and administrative capacities, provide the resources required for education and scientific research, ensure academic recognition of its degrees and programmes, and establish a clear institutional relationship with the Ministry of Higher Education, in a manner that safeguards its independence, identity and role in serving the community.

Accordingly, the statement called for the following:

1. Guaranteeing the right to education in the Kurdish language at all educational levels and working to protect this right constitutionally and legally, including at university level.

2. Recognising and protecting the linguistic and cultural rights of Kurds in the Syrian Constitution, on the basis of equality and recognition of the diversity that characterises Syrian society.

3. Preserving Rojava University, including all its existing faculties, academic departments and specialisations, and ensuring that it can continue fulfilling its educational and academic mission without abolishing its departments or merging them with equivalent departments at other universities.

4. Guaranteeing Rojava University’s academic and administrative independence and regulating its relationship with Syria’s Ministry of Higher Education in a way that secures academic recognition of its degrees and programmes while safeguarding its distinct identity and its right to continue its scientific and institutional development.

5. Supporting the university and developing its infrastructure and scientific and research capacities, while providing suitable conditions for the continuation of the educational process, meeting the needs of the community in Rojava and helping prepare qualified scientific and educational professionals from among its people.

6. Guaranteeing students’ right to pursue their university education within educational institutions capable of continuing and developing, and refraining from taking measures that would reduce their educational opportunities or weaken the university’s academic presence in the region.

The statement noted that their demands are not directed against any other university and do not diminish its status or role. Rather, they affirm the local community’s right to preserve and develop its university, students’ right to stable university education close to their community, and the right of local people to be partners in building their region’s scientific, educational and cultural future.

In conclusion, the statement affirmed that the students aspire to a new Syria that guarantees the rights of all its components, respects languages and cultures, and builds educational institutions on the foundations of justice, equality and cooperation, away from exclusion and marginalisation.

Sh-S

ANHA