Students’ Union rejects Education Ministry decision: Integration is not assimilation

The Syrian National Students’ Union today issued a statement to the public rejecting the decision issued by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Syrian transitional government regarding Rojava and Kobani universities, stating that the decisions infringe on students’ right to continue their university education in their mother tongue and affect their academic future.

The statement was read at Rojava University in the city of Qamishlo in the presence of a large gathering of students. Student Ronya Luqman Haidar read it in Kurdish, while student Simav Diriye Mohammed read it in Arabic.

The statement read as follows:

“Higher education and the right to access knowledge in our mother tongue, which we regard as the fundamental identity of our culture and academic development, within an environment and circumstances that reflect the aspirations of society, have been and remain the cornerstone of building a bright future and preparing aware generations capable of advancing their communities.

The establishment of university-level educational institutions in our region over the past ten years has been a historic and pivotal step, embodying the hopes of thousands of students and their families to obtain their natural right to stable and sustainable education in their own cities and regions. Today, on behalf of all students in the region, we affirm the following in a clear voice and with a principled stance:

• These decisions have a profound and significant impact on us. Throughout our educational journey, we have received our education in Kurdish, our mother tongue, and we have a natural and academic right to continue our higher education and develop our research and specialisations in it. Any attempt to undermine departments and faculties that teach in our mother tongue strikes at the foundations of academia and threatens our academic future. We will not accept this marginalisation in any form.

• Excluding departments, merging them or restructuring them in this manner constitutes a flagrant violation of fundamental human rights and international conventions that guarantee the right to education in one’s mother tongue and the right of peoples to manage their educational and cultural institutions freely and independently. These decisions deprive hundreds of students of the opportunity to pursue the specialisations they are passionate about and strip the university institution of its diversity and significance.

• The future of this university cannot be determined by administrative decisions. Academic institutions must enjoy full independence, and we also need a transitional phase that is carried out fairly and on the basis of our university’s true identity.

• Integration does not mean assimilation. Any integration process must take the following criteria into account: educational, logistical, legal and academic considerations, and must be conducted with full transparency. Otherwise, we will be facing an act of betrayal against students and the institution.

• The people of this region have a legitimate and historic right to have their own independent university in their region, one that meets their scientific and academic needs and preserves their identity. It has been and remains our hope that this university—which was built through dedicated efforts over a decade—will receive full recognition and continue fulfilling its mission without undermining its achievements or dissolving its identity.

• Any steps or decisions concerning restructuring or integration must not come at the expense of the sacrifices made, nor at the expense of students’ right to continue their education in the departments and faculties they chose and whose future they trusted.

As the Students’ Union, expressing the aspirations of the entire student body, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to our position and will continue to demand our rights through all available means. Accordingly, we call on all relevant authorities and institutions responsible for the educational process to review the recent decisions and work to protect our university’s achievements in a way that ensures the stability of education and safeguards the right of the region’s people to study in their mother tongue and in their own cities.

Our university is our right… The future of our education is a trust.”

Sh-S

ANHA