Kurdish Courses Still a Dream

Nazif Ulgen, an ethnic Kurd businessman who owns language institutions, applied for permission for his institutions to teach Kurdish.

However, the new regulation requires that a new institution have to be established for Kurdish classes.

And because of this requirement, Ulgen is not able to teach Kurdish at his language institute. He will only be able to open private Kurdish classes if the government approves ethic language lessons at existing institutions.

"For language classes other than Kurdish, the only requirement is to appoint a teacher. However, when it comes to Kurdish, they require a new institution, new managerial and secretarial staff, a new secretariat and new teachers. They have announced that we cannot teach Kurdish at our existing institutions."

The Department of National Education at the Istanbul Province had rejected Ulgen's application to teach Kurdish at his language institutions before the parliament passed the EU-reform package two months ago.

Ulgen says that the regulations were made to prevent such classes from opening.

Teaching Kurdish and other ethnic languages was one of the reforms passed by the Turkish parliament in August to improve the country's much-criticized human rights record and boost Turkey's chances of joining the European Union.

Ulgen had made all the necessary preparations and planned the curriculum before the EU-reforms were passed. When he applied the Department of National Education at the Istanbul Province however, he was told he "had to wait a little." Later, his application was rejected because the law had not yet been passed.

The ordinance does not include existing courses

Ulgen applied again to teach Kurdish after the reforms were passed, but this time; he was faced with the ordinance's handicap.

According to the "Ordinance About Teaching Traditional Languages and Dialects Used in Everyday Life to Turkish Citizens," Ulgen could not open Kurdish classes in his existing institutions.

However, Law No: 625 says that private institutions that have permission to give education in any field, may conduct other courses without the requirement of a new building, equipment or personnel.

Ulgen expressed that the law regulating the teaching of Kurdish requires that ethnic languages be taught in private, special institutions. "The existing private institutions are excluded through this regulation," said Ulgen. (MZ/NM/EA/NM)