The Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) Al-Jazeera and Euphrates Committee held a workshop on the educational curricula imposed by the PYD militia east of the Euphrates River. The workshop brought together Minister of Education in the Syrian Interim Government, Huda Al-Absi, and education specialists.
SOC’s Vice-president Oqab Yahya talked about the dangers of the curricula imposed by the PYD militia, adding that this act is illegal as it was issued by a de facto authority that lacks legitimacy as well as local and internationally recognition. He stressed that the PYD militia belongs to an organization that is on the global terrorism list.
He pointed out that these curricula intentionally left out the names of the authors and those who supervised their development, pointing out that they promote the PYD ideology in an attempt to destroy the culture that has been established over the centuries amongst the different groups of the Syrian people.
The PYD militia is seeking to impose a cultural pattern that is grounded on a political rather than educational basis, Yahya said, adding that this militia is falsifying geographic facts and using the Kurdish issue to serve its ideology.
Al-Absi also spoke about the PYD militia’s attempts to legitimize its presence in front of future generations through these politicized textbooks. She said that this act amounts to a crime that is added to the litany of crimes that the PYD militia is committing in the region. She stressed that this act violates international law.
She pointed out that the curricula adopted by the Ministry of Education are devoid of any promotion of ideologies. Therefore, the certificates being issued by the Ministry obtained international recognition from countries like Turkey, the European Union, and many other countries.
For his part, SOC member Muhammad Wali said that the Kurds were the first to reject the educational curricula the PYD militia imposed on schools in the areas under its control. Adding that those curricula were imposed by the Qandil group which is outside the national will.
Wali also said that the PYD militia abolished the educational curricula adopted by UNICEF in the schools of rural Deir Ezzor and the Raqqa province and imposed their own curricula, which triggered repeated protests by the local population.
Participants in the meeting put forward several recommendations, including the formation of a mini-committee to review the curricula and assess its legal violations, sending legal notes to UNICEF, the United Nations and friendly states, and highlighting the legal violations and their risks to schoolchildren and the Syrian social fabric. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
