In Turkey, a significant gap exists between the demand for Kurdish language courses and the availability of qualified teachers, with thousands of students applying for elective Kurdish classes but only 132 teachers appointed over the last 12 years, Mezopotamya Agency’s Zeynep Durgut reported on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Emin Ay, spokesperson for the Kurdish Teachers Initiative, said communities must continue to demand education in one’s mother tongue.
Activities and demonstrations marking International Mother Language Day, 21 February, have highlighted calls for Kurdish to be recognised as an educational and official language. Nevertheless, there has been a lack of teacher appointments for Kurdish courses offered as electives in schools.
In the 2022-2023 academic year, 24,368 students chose to study Kurdish, illustrating an overwhelming discrepancy with the number of appointed teachers.
Turkish National Education Ministry announced plans to appoint 50 Kurdish language teachers under the ‘Living Languages and Dialects’ program this year, yet the number of teachers appointed remains disproportionately low compared to the interest shown by students.
Emin Ay highlighted the lack of official recognition for Kurdish in schools, pointing out the restrictions on using Kurdish for official documents or in communications with state officials. He criticised the state’s negative stance towards Kurdish, noting the absence of a constructive policy towards the language and the historical bans on Kurdish theatre and concerts.
Ay also mentioned the challenges faced by Kurdish language teachers, many of whom were forced to leave the field due to pressure from authorities, compounded by the discouragement families received from school administrations when choosing Kurdish.
Only 79 active Kurdish teachers remain in the profession, Ay stressed, also attributing the decline to a cumulative lack of interest among families and a general disengagement from politicians, unions and school administrations regarding the subject.
Ay called for a united effort from political parties, cultural and artistic institutions, media and unions to demand education in the mother tongue, highlighting the importance of owning the language and promoting its use in all areas of life to counteract attacks on Kurdish culture and language.
