Turkey prepares cadre of Kurdish teachers
As government gives the green light to elective Kurdish, developing a curriculum and cadre of teachers comes next.
By Alakbar Raufoglu for SES Türkiye -- 10/07/12
Mehmet Deniz hopes he will one day be able to use his mother tongue to teach his Kurdish origin students. The 27-year-old social studies teacher at the Sanliurfa Study Centre said many of his elementary school-aged Kurdish students have troubles learning.
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![Elective Kurdish courses could be offered to 5th grade students. [Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/07/10/ALAKBARphoto-310_213.jpg)
Elective Kurdish courses could be offered to 5th grade students. [Reuters]
![Elective Kurdish courses could be offered to 5th grade students. [Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/07/10/ALAKBARphoto-800_550.jpg)
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"Many students who come to school for the first time are having a very hard time understanding what is being discussed and what is being asked from them. They feel very uncomfortable and even ashamed, because their classmates make fun of them. This tendency usually ends with them leaving school, or hating education in their childhood years," he told SES Türkiye.
"Our government and the education leaders should finally understand that one's own language enables children to express themselves easily, as there is no fear of making mistakes," he said.
Deniz's desire might soon come true as the government is preparing a new cadre of teachers to teach Kurdish as a two-hour elective course starting in fifth grade.
The Education Ministry has assigned the task of training teachers to state-run Mardin Artuklu University and Bingol University, which announced the opening of programmes last week to train 700 Kurdish teachers.
"There is a great interest in the programme and we believe that this process will eventually develop into mother tongue education," Professor Kadri Yildirim, Artuklu University deputy rector and the head of the Living Language Institute that operates a Kurdish-language institute, told SES Türkiye.
The university is planning to select 500 students among those who apply by July 27th. The students will take part in the programme this fall and will be appointed as Kurdish language teachers -- in both Zaza and Kurmanji dialects -- next summer after their graduation.
Teachers will not only learn to teach Kurdish, but will also improve their teaching skills and prepare to teach fifth- and sixth-grade elementary school students.
"This is a simple pilot project," Yildirim explained, noting that it would develop the infrastructure for even more mother tongue education and teaching.
But some education experts, such as Professor Ilhan Kaya, head of the Diyarbakir-based Dicle University Social Research Centre, are wary of the new programme that "doesn't really look like it is well-prepared for."
Calling the initiative a positive step, Kaya told SES Türkiye that Turkey's education system is not adequately prepared to teach Kurdish language academically to the undergraduate teachers. "There are not enough specialists, infrastructure for books and curriculum, and the number of teachers for it," he said.
Yildirim agreed that currently the university doesn't have the infrastructure to accommodate the decision for Kurdish mother tongue education. "But this is a process. We are in a transition period to the next steps," he said.
The programme will accept applicants who have graduated from Turkish language and literature teaching, social sciences and modern Turkish dialects from science and literature faculties. The candidates will need to score at least 55 points on the ALES, the postgraduate programme examination.
What do you think of this article? (Total Votes )
24 Like(s)
8 Dislike(s)
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Good, but still not enough.
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Hey guys, wake up already! How long will this issue continue? The government has come to a deadlock and now they are trying to change the public agenda by dividing this beautiful country and turning it into a land of minorities. These are just conspiracies to confuse our people. Our aircraft was downed and as a result, this issue topped the public agenda. Now they are trying to confuse people with this Kurdish teachers issue. Let’s wait and see what will follow.
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Well, did they learn their mother tongue through elective courses?
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Enough with this damn military service! 12 months just do not pass.
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If a country is preparing to start education in a language other than its mother tongue, then there is nothing left to say for that country but “Rest in Peace”. Being right-minded and protecting your country are two different things. Shame on you! Wake up Turkey! Wake up already! Where is the secular and democratic Turkey? We have the US on one side and its spoiled kid, Israel on the other. It is impossible to make you listen.
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After all the wheeling and dealing, it will be us who will end up a loser again.
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Kurds are the children of this country. This country does not belong to a single race. If Turkey does not protect Kurds, others would use make politics over them. Turkey has got the remedy to solve this issue. If everyone contributes to this process and look after each other, we would not need any other countries. We should not forget that each race in this country is an integral part of us like a hand, a foot or a head. Now we are a whole, but if one of these parts was missing, we would be handicapped, which is likely if such policies continue.
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If this subject goes into implementation like this, it will be very good for Turkey.
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Fellows, I’m a 13 years old Ataturkist student and I always learn the essence of the matter and take everybody’s opinions before making a comment on it and on this subject, frankly I only think that… First of all, what makes a nation is its language and traditions. This nation had been accepted Kurds without any discrimination and racism. They are our citizens. Their place is here. Didn’t we get this country with its Kurds, Turks, Laz, Greeks without any discrimination? Then, why do they want to divide us now, for Kurdistan? This second language event is just a step in the ladder. To destroy the language of a nation is like to insert a chip into the brain of that nation. A Puppet.
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Wasn’t is that capitulations which indeed caused headache to Ottomans too? What was Ataturk saying? “Mandate and guardianship can not be accepted neither in Erzurum, Sivas nor in Amasya. Capitulations can not be tolerated.”. Kurds in minority has always batten upon through the history and this will not change. Let’s say that desired Kurdish state had been set up in Middle East. This state with its Armenian origins will again be under the directorship of others. This is Turkey, the official language of Turkey is Turkish. I don’t understand which goal is being pursued here. I congratulate the Prime Minister too, he made them to get on top of our heads.
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If we, Turks do not protect our Kurds and give them any rights, this would help Western countries. After all, their goal is to disintegrate Turkey, isn’t it? I, as a Turkish person, support Kurdish language education.
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I support education in Kurdish language too.
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I think mother tongue education is not enough. There should be a federation.
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While there is being tolerant, why the people waste a very short life?
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