Hundreds of Kurdish students in Hassakeh and Kobani refused to enter their classrooms as the 2026–2027 school year began, protesting a Ministry of Education decision that reduces Kurdish-language instruction to three class periods per week.
Students demanded that the decision be reversed and that Kurdish be restored as a primary language of instruction, joining a wave of demonstrations opposing changes to the educational model that had governed Kurdish-majority regions in recent years.
School Boycotts Sweep Hassakeh and Kobani
In Hassakeh, students at several schools—including Zat Al-Nitaqain in the Al-Nasira neighborhood—stood outside campus gates rather than attend classes. Students and teachers voiced strong objections to the ministry’s directive, calling for constitutional recognition of Kurdish and insisting on their right to be educated in their mother tongue.
Nourjan Mohammad, a student, said those raised under the previous curriculum struggle to learn exclusively in Arabic, adding that three weekly Kurdish periods are far from adequate. Another student, Ibrahim Amer, told the Hawar News Agency that he would not return to school until Kurdish receives constitutional protection and its educational status is resolved.
Zilan Abdul Aziz Mohammad, also from Hassakeh, noted that students want to learn Arabic and English, yet their central demand remains official recognition of Kurdish and the freedom to use it in academic settings. Boycotts were accompanied by rallies and sit-ins involving students, parents, and teachers across multiple districts.
A similar scene unfolded in Kobani, where students likewise refused to attend classes, insisting on the restoration of Kurdish as the main language of instruction. Student Henkvin Musa stressed that protesters are not rejecting Arabic, but believe their mother tongue must remain the foundation of their education. Fifth-grader Anlan Mohammad said he would not return to school unless Kurdish is reinstated as the primary instructional language. Students vowed to continue their boycott until the policy is amended.
Protests Over Curriculum Restructuring
The dispute stems from a broader overhaul of the educational model that had taken shape in Kurdish-majority areas over the past fourteen years. Under the Autonomous Administration, Kurdish served as the primary language of instruction for core subjects, supplemented by Arabic and English language classes.
Teacher Surayya Darwish said educators had invested years in building the previous curriculum and that students had grown accustomed to learning in their native language. She questioned how students could abruptly transition to an Arabic-only system, arguing that three weekly Kurdish periods are insufficient and that Kurdish-speaking students deserve the same right to mother-tongue education as their Arabic-speaking peers.
The Ministry of Education’s decision is part of a nationwide effort to reorganize the school system following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, aiming to integrate previously separate regional curricula into a unified national framework.
Under the new plan, Kurdish instruction is capped at three periods per week—a change widely viewed by students and parents as a significant downgrade from the previous model. The policy has drawn sharp criticism, particularly in Kobani, where parents, educators, and intellectuals described it as a dangerous setback to educational rights and to progress achieved over the past decade.
Protesters expressed hope that the transitional government will reconsider the decision, stressing that their demand goes beyond increasing weekly Kurdish classes. Their core insistence is on securing the fundamental right to receive primary education in their own language.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
