A look at northeast Syria's exceptional and diverse education system

Lastly, the educational system aims to achieve goals that are not prioritised in the rest of Syria, such as teaching religion as a matter of ethics only (it shuns any politicisation of religion), as well as highlighting the value of women and their role in society.

The educational system also opposes what it calls "primitive nationalism".

These three factors distinguish the educational system in northeastern Syria as more progressive. As such, it has become a model for how education can be used to promote diversity, equality, and social justice.

Two curricula

Al Majalla interviewed Samira Haj Ali, co-chair of the Education Authority within the Executive Council of the AANES, an entity parallel to the Syrian government's Ministry of Education.

Haj Ali elaborated on their practical approach when it comes to education, explaining that there are currently two distinct curricula in northeastern Syria.

The first, sanctioned by a dedicated committee under the Education Authority, is available in Arabic, Kurdish, and Syriac. It spans grades one to nine, and is taught across various regions, including Afrin/al-Shahba, the Euphrates, al-Jazeera, and al-Tabqa.

The second, endorsed by UNICEF, is taught in the same regions, but only from grades 10 to 12, and solely in Arabic.

When it comes to students in areas that have been liberated from ISIS, the foundation of education is the UNICEF curriculum, which is also conducted exclusively in Arabic.

The core instruction follows UNICEF's syllabus, but some elements of the Autonomous Administration's teachings are also integrated, particularly until grade nine.

Haj Ali emphasised the importance of this integration as UNICEF's curricula are simplified and would therefore fail to achieve the desired educational outcomes.

The focus here is to teach basic arithmetic skills, fundamental principles of natural sciences, and Arabic literacy.

In practice, both teaching and administrative staff are affiliated with the AANES, which provides them with comprehensive support.

The AANES intends to gradually phase out the UNICEF curricula, and replace them with approved syllabi that align with its overall objectives.

Mother tongues

The AANES places significant emphasis on linguistic diversity and the right of all ethnicities to educate their children in their respective "mother tongue."

Nevertheless, this approach also integrates materials in other local languages and makes a point to include one foreign language.

The following is their educational strategy:

In the first three years of education, curricula and instruction are conducted exclusively in the "mother tongue" of students. Kurdish students learn exclusively in Kurdish, Arab students learn exclusively in Arabic, and Syriac students learn exclusively in Syriac.

This practice is followed even in schools that are comprised of students from different ethnicities – which is particularly true in the Jazira and Euphrates regions.

Starting from the fourth grade, a second local language is incorporated into the students' curriculum.

For instance, Kurdish students would begin studying subjects in the Arabic language, and these Arabic-language subjects would make up a minimum of 20% of their comprehensive curriculum.

It's important to note that this is not an "opt-in" feature. The successful completion of these subjects is a mandatory prerequisite to graduate to the next academic year.

This is applicable to every student, regardless of ethnicity. Arab students also partake in lessons taught in Kurdish, while Syriac students participate in lessons carried out in Arabic.

In the fifth grade, English – the aforementioned "foreign language" – becomes a primary language of instruction. It takes up approximately the same space in the curricula as the second local language does.

Linguistic integration and cognitive difficulties

Maya Ahmed, a researcher in educational sociology, describes this approach to educational multilingualism in the northeastern region as "an exceptional opportunity culturally and educationally, even if it faces a cognitive challenge."

Speaking to Al Majalla, she adds: "This is the first experience in the history of Syria involving equality in linguistic merit. The Kurds have always been subjected to persecution and linguistic denial, similarly to the Syriacs and the Armenians, even though the latter had their own schools, which (unlike the Kurds) teach their religion in their own language."

Today, according to Ahmed, the situation has completely changed. Now, both students and parents can see a greater sense of fairness in the educational system.

She adds that surveys have been conducted among students exposed to curricula and education in various local languages. The results showed their proficiency in the diverse languages of their immediate surroundings.

This adeptness is thanks to the multitude of instructional languages, as well as daily interactions at school, particularly during collaborative extracurricular activities.

Linguistic diversity has also played a role in fostering a positive perception of different national and social identities that coexist in particular areas, which is in stark contrast to earlier periods in history.

Nevertheless, Ahmed acknowledges concerns about potential "cognitive deficits" that may impact students, especially those of Syriac and Kurdish origins; their primary language could come with limitations.

For instance, the Kurdish language enjoys the merits of any other language, but it is considered to be less advanced in areas such as literature and social sciences, and especially in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

On its own, their proficiency in other languages, such as Arabic and English, will not equip them to adequately engage in scientific research and learning.

This is true even though Kurdish possesses all the attributes of a complete language. Unfortunately, its "cognitive impoverishment" has been a consequence of historical policies of restriction and suppression imposed by regional governments, which have had a lasting impact throughout the past century.

Support organisations

Government agencies in northeastern Syria are aware of these cognitive difficulties facing students learning in Kurdish.

Due to the recent introduction of Kurdish as an instructional and official language in the region – and the dominance of Arabic in various educational, cultural, administrative, and economic sectors – this issue has become more and more evident.

In response, many auxiliary institutions have been launched to strengthen the Kurdish language and increase literary and knowledge production in Kurdish.

One pioneering model is the Kurdish Language Authority (Saziya Ziman a Kurdî ya Rojava - SZK). This institution works in various fields of knowledge related to the Kurdish language, from standardising its rules and developing its structure to providing it with more scientific terminology.

It also produces daily audiovisual materials that motivate students and all Kurdish citizens to speak and write in their mother tongue.

In addition, the SZK is working on producing a comprehensive linguistic dictionary that contains all modern international terms, concepts, and articles. This dictionary is intended to become a major encyclopedia in the Kurdish language.

The administration is also working to develop the skills of Kurdish-language educational staff.

According to special information obtained by Al Majalla, there are currently 9,681 teachers of the Kurdish language out of 41,182 teachers in the entire education sector in northeastern Syria.

From 2014 and 2015, after Kurdish was approved as an official language, former teachers were recruited from the Syrian Ministry of Education and given intensive, six-month courses in Kurdish. They were then integrated into the teaching staff.

In the meantime, thousands of new teachers graduated from Rojava University in Qamishli and Kobani University in Kobani. They specialised in various fields, such as social, educational, literary, and scientific sciences. They were also inducted into the educational system.

(The two abovementioned universities in northeastern Syria offer a variety of courses in Kurdish, including engineering, social sciences, literature, law, medicine, physics, and chemistry. Some articles or chapters are taught in Arabic or English. In addition to these universities, there is Al-Sharq University in the city of Raqqa, which offers the same faculties but in Arabic.)

The Kurdish language is also gaining ground in other areas of society. For example, Kurdish Language Day is celebrated on 15 May. Meanwhile, dozens of Kurdish-language media outlets exist.

Villages, towns, and streets have also had their Kurdish names restored, which had been Arabised during the rule of the Baathist regime. In addition, the Kurdish language is now used in documents and official bureaucratic processes.

The significant surge in the number of books released in the Kurdish language in recent years serves as a distinct sign that the language is becoming more influential, both as part of the education and culture of northeastern Syria.

During a recent book fair, a remarkable collection of 3,035 titles in the Kurdish language was showcased – approximately tenfold the number of Kurdish-language books produced in Syria throughout the entire preceding century.

Radical political struggle

The educational system in the northeastern regions of Syria is not recognised by any official Syrian parties.

Certificates and documents issued in these areas are therefore not accepted for modification or integration into the broader educational system in the rest of Syria or any other country.

This stands in contrast to the recognition granted to documents issued by the Syrian government's ministries of education, or even documents originating from other nations.

Throughout negotiations between the AANES and the Syrian government, the latter consistently refused to acknowledge the former's educational systems within the administrations' territories.

This refusal extended to specific educational institutions, as well as the recognition of the Kurdish language as an official language. The rejection also encompassed the acceptance of students who graduated from schools under AANES into Syrian institutes and universities.

Kurdish negotiators disclosed that the height of the concessions that the Syrian government made were limited to "certain Kurdish cultural rights." These involved permitting private institutes to offer Kurdish language instruction, albeit symbolically and only in the early grades on an optional basis.

The conditions were reminiscent of Turkey's stance in previous years.

However, this recognition was contingent on the Syrian Democratic Council and the Syrian Democratic Forces relinquishing the entire Autonomous Administration project, including the Education Authority, and transferring all associated institutions to the Syrian government.

The events in the Afrin region during the 2019 conflict and its aftermath delivered an "educational-political shock" to the Syrian Kurds. The Kurdish language had been a fundamental component of education for Kurdish students in that area between 2012 and 2019, alongside Arabic.

However, following the takeover of the Afrin region by the Turkish army and its affiliated Syrian factions, the Ministry of Education in the Syrian Interim Government eliminated Kurdish as the primary language of instruction, replacing it with Arabic and Turkish.

This occurred despite the absence of Turkish or Turkmen citizens in the entire Afrin region.

According to information obtained by Al Majalla, the current school year of the Autonomous Administration in northeastern Syria encompasses 832,125 students, with the majority being Arab students.

They attend over 1,500 schools overseen by the AANES Education Authority.