Syrian Kurds protest the introduction of Arabic-language instruction in northeastern schools, fearing educational setbacks and the erosion of Kurdish identity amid growing distrust between Damascus and Kurdish communities.
19 October 2026
QAMISHLI (QAMISHLO) — Last month, hundreds of Syrian Kurds took to the streets across northeastern Syria to demand that Kurdish remain the primary language of instruction in schools. A government decision had come into effect to start teaching some courses in Arabic, surprising Kurdish residents. The decision is the latest flashpoint testing the fragile integration between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which officially announced their dissolution in August.
In Qamishli, students, parents and residents gathered at the March 12 Stadium, known as the site of the start of the ‘Kurdish Intifada.’ In 2004, dozens of Kurds were killed by security forces and allied tribal fighters at the stadium during and after a football match, leading to riots across the country. The protesters see the fight for the Kurdish language as existential after it was banned for decades in Assad’s Syria.
Read More: Denied for decades, Syria’s stateless Kurds edge towards recognition
In January, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa issued a decree recognizing Kurdish linguistic and cultural rights, including designating Kurdish a national language. Last March, the Ministry of Education called on Kurdish language specialists and educators to develop a Kurdish language curriculum. Consequently, Kurdish students and parents were shocked to find out when the school year started last month that the Syrian government had decided Arabic would be a primary language of instruction. Previous government statements had made no mention of teaching in Arabic.
Today, the gains made by Kurds under the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration are unraveling, residents say. But how does one rebuild a state without a shared language between its citizens?
Educational outcomes
While previous generations of Syrian Kurds speak fluent Arabic, much of the new generation has limited command of the language. “Ever since we came into this world, our language has been Kurdish, and we don’t understand Arabic very well,” Miran Suleiman, 15, told Syria Direct. He says that he will not be able to understand math and science anymore as they are now being taught entirely in Arabic. “It’s also our identity,” he added.
“Ever since we came into this world, our language has been Kurdish, and we don’t understand Arabic very well.”
Kurdish parents fear their children will fall behind in their studies due to the language barrier. “Most students aren’t going to school in protest and because they can’t understand what is being taught. Some students may have to repeat grades as a result,” said Hana’a Ainas, 46, who previously worked as a teacher under the Autonomous Administration and now works for the Teachers’ Union.
She recalls how educational outcomes were uneven between Kurdish and Arab students under the Assad regime. “We faced difficulties at school understanding teachers and Arab students, after growing up speaking Kurdish at home,” Ainas said. “Arab students were more advanced and smarter at school.”
Ainas is part of a generation of Syrian Kurds who remember the days when speaking Kurdish was criminalized. The Assad regime prohibited the use of Kurdish in public, including in schools and workplaces. It also banned Kurdish-language publications and Kurdish cultural activities, including the celebration of Nowruz, the Kurdish New Year.
“At school, we would lower our voices when we spoke Kurdish as we were not allowed to speak Kurdish at all,” Ainas recalled. “We would learn Kurdish in secret after school and hide our notebooks under our clothing.” Those who defied the government ban on teaching Kurdish were arrested by the security forces.
“We would learn Kurdish in secret after school and hide our notebooks under our clothing.”
Education as politics
Northeastern Syria has long been a battleground for education. Prior to the fall of the Assad regime, the Autonomous Administration periodically shut down schools teaching the Arabic-language government curriculum. Many parents, including Kurds, preferred to send their children to regime schools as diplomas from the Autonomous Administration were not recognized outside of northeastern Syria.
After the regime withdrew from northeastern Syria in 2012, schools began teaching entirely in Kurdish. In 2012, the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration designed a new curriculum in the Kurdish language and taught Kurdish history, geography, and philosophy. In 2016, the first Kurdish university was established in Afrin, with several others subsequently founded across northeastern Syria.
While math and science are now being taught in Arabic, the curriculum for philosophy, history, geography, and sociology will remain unchanged based on the Autonomous Administration’s curriculum until next year, when a new government curriculum will be rolled out across Syria. However, there are fears that Kurdish history could be sidelined entirely in the new textbooks. Who sits on the committee to draft the new curriculum, and whether any Kurds are represented, remains unknown.
“The [new] curriculum should make visible the culture, histories, experiences and perspectives of students of different groups,” said Benoite Martin, an education and peace-building expert who works for the Netherlands-based peace organization PAX. “This means that there is a pressing need to review the curriculum in its entirety.”
“Education is of intrinsic and symbolic importance—it speaks to efforts of building institutions, curricula and everyday acts of resistance throughout the conflict,” echoed Thomas McGee, a fellow at the European University Institute and specialist in Kurdish affairs.
“Like everyone else in the world, we want our children to study in their own language—every community should study in its own language,” said Hadiyya Abdul Wahab, 48, a mother of three. Under the Autonomous Administration, Assyrians were allowed to learn in their language, while Arabs were taught in their native tongue. Kurdish students would receive two hours of Arabic language instruction per week.
Abdul Wahab is not opposed to her children learning Arabic. “We are obligated to study it as well since we live in one state together as Kurds, Assyrians, Armenians, and Arabs, but the majority [of classes for Kurds] should be in Kurdish.”
Most agree that the country needs a common language for Syrians to be able to communicate with one another. “Logically and pragmatically, that would be Arabic,” said McGee. “At the same time, another part of rebuilding a unified state is to address the legacy of prohibitions against the Kurdish language.”
“In a post-conflict Syria, it is essential to seek to address the existing polarization and this polarization will only grow if individuals are not able to communicate and interact with the same language,” said Martin. “It is important to reflect on the Iraqi experience, as a whole generation of younger people in Iraqi Kurdistan who have grown up speaking very little Arabic…who are today unable to interact with peers from other parts of Iraq.”
“It is important to reflect on the Iraqi experience, as a whole generation of younger people in Iraqi Kurdistan who have grown up speaking very little Arabic…who are today unable to interact with peers from other parts of Iraq.”
But distrust has hindered the integration process between Damascus and northeastern Syria. Last month, a former member of the Kurdish-led SDF who had recently been integrated into the army was killed. His death triggered large-scale protests and riots across northeastern Syria.
In the last few weeks, demonstrations once again gripped northeastern Syria, as Arab residents demanded the Syrian government take full control of al-Hasakeh Province. Some protesters tore down flags and symbols associated with the Autonomous Administration and the SDF before being dispersed by security forces.
According to official sources, the Syrian government may reverse its recent decision. “There are promises [by Damascus] to return to teaching the Autonomous Administration’s curriculum in the Kurdish language for Kurdish students in their regions and schools,” Abd al-Aziz Ahmou, spokesperson for al-Hasakeh Province’s Education Directorate, told Syria Direct.
McGee sees the education issue as part and parcel of decentralization, which the Syrian government has so far publicly resisted. “The language question is emblematic of the general treatment of identity and local specificities, and approaches to decentralized governance in practice,” he explained. Ceding ground on the Kurdish language issue could be a gain for decentralized governance in Syria.
“As Kurds, we are moving forward with integration and coexistence,” Abdul Wahab added. “However, from the Syrian government’s side, we feel that integration is not happening correctly.”
“This unilateral decision from the Syrian government doesn’t take into account concerns and requests of Kurdish communities, and is an additional step in breaking the trust between the two parties,” Martin said.
