1,400 teachers from Afrin awaiting official decision to start working

According to Kurdistan Press, "Hugher Ibish", a teacher from Afrin, announced that about 1,400 teachers from Afrin and Aleppo who have returned to their regions, as well as graduates of the Vian Amara Educational Institute, are awaiting an official decision from the Syrian Ministry of Education to start their activities. According to him, only 153 teachers have been integrated so far, but these people have not started working in schools and are only receiving their salaries.

According to Rudaw Network, on September 26, a meeting was held in Afrin city with the presence of Ilham Ahmed, head of the autonomous administration, Aref Seydou, director of education in Afrin, and a number of teachers.The meeting discussed the situation of teachers who have returned to Afrin, as well as graduates of the Vian Amara Institute.

Hoger Ibish, one of the participants in the meeting and a graduate of the Vian Amara Institute, explained to Rudaw the problems of teachers and graduates of the institute.

Referring to the situation of about 1,400 teachers, Ibish said that the teachers who returned from Afrin and Aleppo and the graduates of the Vian Amara Institute are awaiting an official decision from the Syrian Ministry of Education.

He added that so far only 153 teachers have been integrated, but these teachers have not been sent to schools and are only receiving their salaries.

The Afrin teacher emphasized that the main problem lies in Damascus and that the Afrin education administration only implements decisions that are communicated from Damascus.Another problem raised is the non-recognition of the qualifications of graduates of autonomous management educational centers and universities.

Ibish said that the Vian Amara Institute, which was established in 2013 as the first autonomous management educational institution, has not been recognized in the new Syrian education system.

According to him, this has prevented graduates of this institute, as well as universities such as the University of Rojava and the University of Kobani, from officially registering to work in the teaching profession.

Ibish also spoke about the consequences of this situation on students, saying that students who have studied in Kurdish for years are now being taught in Arabic in Afrin, and this change has caused them many problems.He added that the academic qualifications of these students are also not recognized and they cannot continue their studies in Syrian universities.

Regarding Kurdish language education, Ibish said that although there is a decision to allocate three hours a week to Kurdish language education, this decision is not fully implemented and specialized teachers have not been employed to teach this subject.