Abdalwahed M. Haje
President of the Kurdistan Teachers Union
It is generally known that education and learning involve a wide range of subjects in order to produce new cadres who can take the responsibility of serving their country and nation. It must be acknowledged that there are two more crucial topics among these that cannot be disregarded for any reason. They must be given top priority during the teaching and learning process. The first area of focus is the mother tongue. This subject will not be forgotten. It begins before the primary and elementary school years and continues until the university level of study. Language serves as a symbol of social cohesion and achieving national objectives, hence it is significant. This is a universal reality that applies to all nations around the world. As a result, in the most God-given countries, mother tongue is given special attention and value. Aside from the mother tongue, the subject of history is given as much importance as possible. It is also given a lot of consideration. That is why this subject is studied in most countries in all grades of study. Because in some countries, the centers of teaching and teachers are free to set the style and order of studying the subjects, the government selects and chooses its continent, and it is not accepted to be changed by anyone. However, the mother tongue and the subject of history cannot be changed. I brought up this important topic to inform all those in charge in our country that these two sensitive and important subjects must be given special attention, because the first, the mother tongue (Kurdish language), is about to be completely ignored in all academic levels. We previously expressed our concern about losing the identity of the Kurdish language in a meeting with some respected supervisors. They claimed that the teaching centers have the fewest Kurdish teachers who teach Kurdish alphabets. Because those who graduate from education and primary education colleges want to teach in high schools. They are unwilling to teach Kurdish alphabets in basic and primary school. This, in my opinion, is not a good start because it means that in a few years, there will be no teachers teaching the Kurdish alphabets. Then we will face a big problem and its solution will be very hard. When it comes to history, even though its issue is not as severe as the mother tongue, it will still have a significant issue because of the following reasons:
1. The authority does not give this field enough consideration. It is crucial that they accept that history, not their might, has given them the ability to lead their nation.
2. The curriculum is challenging and dry.
3. Studying the subjects conceptually rather than practically and ignoring the scientific outings to historical sites that they must take equally side by side.
In this regard, I recommend that the Ministry of Education give this issue high priority. The Ministry of Education should work in tandem with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to develop new cadres, teachers, and specialists for all teaching levels. Specifically, the primary and basic school teachers of the Kurdish alphabets. To learn more about instructing this crucial subject and instructional strategies, both Ministries should offer ongoing training sessions. There are many things that may be done to make history easier to understand. The fact that teachers of the Kurdish alphabets and history are given particular treatment is, in my opinion, entirely normal. This is due to the fact that these two topics are crucial and fundamental in order to address the difficulties that our generations face one after another. They are pretty evident to us all. We are all depressed about them, and they hurt us. It is important to note that every subject involved in the educational process is crucial.
