Sanawbar Omar and her husband took their six-year-old daughter Helin to Fenk School in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhood of Shoraw. They believe that teaching her in Kurdish is not only easier, but also crucial for a well-rounded education.
“When I bring my daughter to first grade, I want her to study in Kurdish. I believe it’s important for our children in Kirkuk to learn Kurdish and study their mother tongue," said Omar. "The school is good."
At Zhelwan Primary School in the Sarchnar neighborhood for example, last year they admitted 120 pupils. This year, that number has risen to 130, with admissions still ongoing. And some parents are switching their children from Arabic education to Kurdish in later years.
“I expect the enrollment to reach 140 to 150 students. And we have made all preparations to receive this number. In previous years, 2021, 2022, and 2023 the rate was lower, but this year it is much better and has increased," said Mohammed Saeed, principal at Zhelwan Primary School.
“Many students switch back to Kurdish after progressing through several stages of Arabic education, typically around the third or fourth grades,” said Diyar Hamid, the principal of Fenk School.
One factor for students choosing Kurdish schools over Arabic is that it opens the doors to universities and colleges in the Kurdistan Region. Every year, universities allocate ten percent of admissions to Kurdish graduates from the disputed areas like Kirkuk.
Despite its successes, Kurdish education still faces many obstacles. One problem is the mismatch between the Kurdistan Region's education program and that of the federal administration in Baghdad. There are also problems with buildings and supplies. But the main issue is that teachers on the Kurdistan Regional Government’s payroll are not always paid on time.
“In a school, a Kurdish teacher works alongside another teacher from the central government who gets paid every 30 days. But the teacher from the [Kurdistan] Region receives their salary once every three months," said Parwin Fatih, head of the Kurdish basic schools program in Kirkuk.
“This discrepancy is a significant issue, and the hiring process from Baghdad is discriminatory against Kurdish education, resulting in Kurds being deprived,” she added.
Kirkuk’s Kurdish teachers have asked that their payroll be transferred to central government control in order for them to be paid regularly, but the request was denied.
The Kurdish language is taught in 515 schools and kindergartens in Kirkuk province. According to data from the Kurdish Studies Department in Kirkuk, 7,600 teachers run these classes and an estimated 98,000 students are studying the Kurdish language.
A Kurdish language ban was imposed in Kirkuk under Saddam Hussein, as a part of his regime’s efforts to convert the oil-rich territory into a predominantly Arab region. After Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003, Kurdish education was restarted.
