News Center - There are more than 300 private schools in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. These schools offer foreign language education to students; however, the Kurdish students cannot learn their mother language at these schools. The tuition fees for private schools range from a thousand dollars to 10 thousand dollars. While many families send their children to these private schools, the Kurdish language education is not offered by most of them and this leads children to be alienated from their society and identity.

The language experts in the region think, “All organizations and institutions in the region have to formulate a dogmatic plan in order to promote the education in the mother tongue.” Today, the Kurdistan Region needs an organization protecting and developing the Kurdish language.

The education in the private schools that have been registered with the Ministry of Education is offered with the cooperation and assistance of public schools in the Kurdistan Region. This is a state policy. Private schools are “needed” to fill the gap in the education system.

Foreign language learning becomes a model

Every year, many private schools are built in the region. Only rich people can send their children to these schools since their fees are very high. This situation leads to inequality in society. A new era began in the Kurdistan Region after 2003 when the Kurdish language was recognized in Iraq's constitution. However, the private schools in the region do not offer the education in the Kurdish language while foreign language learning becomes a model for most of these schools.

Many foreign languages but not Kurdish language

According to the Ministry of Education, more than 300 private schools were built in the region in 2019. Most of these schools offer education in Persian, English, Arabic, German, South Korean, French and Italian but not the Kurdish language. At the same time, many wealthy families send their children to private schools because they want their children to learn different languages.  If the private schools do not include the Kurdish language learning, a generation that will not speak Kurdish in future, will grow up.

Children do not learn Kurdish language and history

Children living all around the world learn their mother tongue and history to protect their language, identity and history. However, the Kurdistan Regional Government ignores the education in mother language because they think that language itself is just a tool of communication not identity. The language experts in the region think that the education system affects children and leads children to be alienated from their society and identity.