For Syrian Kurds, Mother-Tongue Education is a Red Line by Serkeft Hisen • Solidarity Rising

November 11, 2026

For Syrian Kurds, Mother-Tongue Education is a Red Line

Serkeft Hisen, a Kurdish journalist based in northeast Syria, argues that education in the mother tongue is a basic right for Syria’s Kurds and a demand they cannot give up. He traces a long history of assimilation: under the Baath regime Kurdish was banned from schools, publishing and public life, and Kurdish place names were replaced with Arabic ones. Hisen recalls his own schooling, where speaking his mother tongue was forbidden, and describes how families, teachers and clandestine groups kept the language alive, with the Kurdish Language Institute teaching children in private homes from 2007.

After 2012, Kurdish became a language of instruction across the region, from primary schools to the University of Rojava and the University of Kobane. Hisen sets this against the January 2026 integration agreement between the SDF and the transitional government, and argues that the government’s offer of two optional hours of Kurdish a week, with all other subjects taught in Arabic, would reverse these gains.

He concludes that Kurdish instruction from preschool to university, official status for Kurdish in the new constitution, and recognition of diplomas issued by the Autonomous Administration are essential, both as rights and as a condition for lasting peace in Syria.