Rojava students call for UN recognition of education system

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Scores of students and their parents gathered in front of the United Nations (UN) office in Qamishli city in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Sunday, the International Day of Education, calling on the body to recognize the education system in the region. 

Khane Khalil Issa, a mother and protester, told Rudaw that they want their children to be taught in Kurdish. 

“We have the right to education” was one slogan of the protesting students. 

Mohammed Salih, head of the Rojava education board, told Rudaw’s Dilbxwin Dara on Sunday that they are in talks with UNICEF to convince the Syrian regime in Damascus to recognize their curriculum, which is taught in several languages.

“We, as the education board and the autonomous administration, continue our efforts in order to get the curriculum recognized. We are in extensive talks with UNICEF - which is doing a great job by mediating between us and the regime -  so that a mutual curriculum is recognized,” he said. 

Salih said that they want scientific subjects like maths, physics, chemistry and biology to be identical to the regime curriculum, but they should be translated into and taught in Kurdish. However, historical and cultural learning materials should be decided on by Rojava authorities and “resonate” with their policies.

The Damascus regime’s curriculum promotes President Bashar al-Assad’s Baathist ideology and sidelines Kurdish history. However, The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) curriculum is not criticism-free. The Kurdish opposition umbrella group, Kurdish National Council (ENKS) have slammed the NES for promoting the ideology of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan in schools. 

The ENKS, which is in talks with the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) to reach a unity agreement, has asked for a new curriculum which is recognized by UNICEF and the regime. 

“In the Jazira region, we teach in Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac languages. Some politics-free materials like maths, physics, chemistry and biology will be in the three languages,” said Salih.

Jazira covers the very northeast part of Rojava, including Hasaka province. 

“We will not compromise on Kurdish language,” he added. “This position of ours has somehow been accepted by UNICEF.”

However, he expressed his disappointment with the regime. 

“I do not think the [Syrian] government will easily accept this because it sees education as a sovereignty issue, like borders.”

Kurds have established a number of forms of governance since they took control of Kurdish-majority areas in Syria in 2012. The Syrian uprising in 2011 compelled regime forces to withdraw from Kurdish-majority areas in order to resist against the rebels in Arab-majority areas.