The history of Kurdish education includes religious learning, changing school-language policies, university development and struggles over access. Selected records from Iraq and Turkey show why these histories need distinct dates and institutions.

The old University of Sulaimani campus entrance with Kurdish and English signs below a multistorey building
Entrance to the University of Sulaimani’s old campus, 19 April 2019; Kushared (Muhammed Serdar). A modern view of an institution whose history predates 2003. Kushared (Muhammed Serdar) / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0.

Medrese learning and the 1924 rupture

Religious schooling formed an important setting for Kurdish learning before modern national education systems. In the abstract of his 2024 chapter, Martin van Bruinessen describes medrese networks that used local spoken languages for instruction and communication while studying a core curriculum of Arabic texts. He links the 1924 closure of medreses and unification of education in Turkey to the disruption of Islamic intellectual networks and Kurdish literacy. [1] This history involves teachers, texts and institutions as well as oral transmission.

Kurdish in Iraqi education before 2003

H. Hakim’s study of Kurdish teaching in Iraq covers 1919–2005. Its published abstract dates Kurdish’s introduction into the school curriculum to 1919 and Baghdad University’s Kurdish department to 1959. It describes official expansion of Kurdish teaching in 1970, restrictions during Arabization policies in 1974–91, renewed development after 1991 and constitutional recognition alongside Arabic in 2005. [2] This chronology shows both gains and reversals. Kurdish education developed through changing state policies and political struggles over several generations.

University history: Sulaimani and Erbil

The University of Sulaimani dates its foundation to 23 October 1968 under Iraqi Act 143. Its institutional history records the 1981 transfer to Erbil and renaming as Salahaddin University-Erbil, followed by reopening in Sulaymaniyah in 1992. [3] These dates establish a history of higher education before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. They also show how political decisions could relocate institutions and interrupt their local continuity. The university’s account provides a specific example alongside the broader history of language policy.

A language-course petition and the right to education

In Çölgeçen and Others v. Turkey, students had petitioned Istanbul University in November 2001 for optional Kurdish classes and were suspended or expelled in February 2002. The European Court of Human Rights ruled on 12 December 2017 that the disciplinary sanctions violated the right to education. It found no violence or disruption in their conduct and considered the punishment disproportionate. [4] The finding concerned the sanctions imposed for the petitions; it should be read within that specific case.

Refugee inclusion and the teaching language

UNHCR’s account of the Refugee Education Integration Policy dates endorsement to July 2022 and implementation to September. The Kurdistan Region’s earlier parallel system had used regional materials taught in Arabic by Syrian refugee teachers. Integration into public education introduced Kurdish-language learning needs for children, parents and teachers. UNHCR describes language courses and teacher training, but also reports refusals of enrolment where schools lacked space. [5] Both language support and available classrooms mattered to effective access.

A dated view of continuing shortages

Reporting on 4 October 2026, Rudaw interviewed education officials in Kirkuk, Tuz Khurmatu and Shingal about Kurdish-medium schooling outside KRG administration. They described teacher shortages, buildings needing repair, multiple shifts and delayed textbooks. A family interviewed in Kirkuk also described the difficulty of following lessons in a less familiar language. [6] These local accounts identify practical barriers behind enrolment figures: understanding lessons, obtaining books, finding specialist teachers and having adequate classroom time.

Sources and further reading

  1. Martin van Bruinessen, The Abolition of the Caliphate, Secularization and Kurdish Nationalism, 2024, pp. 78–92: author’s abstract at Utrecht University.
  2. H. Hakim, Un aperçu sur l’enseignement du kurde en Irak (1919–2005), Studia Iranica 35/2 (2006), pp. 263–275: published abstract.
  3. University of Sulaimani, History: institutional chronology of foundation, relocation and reopening.
  4. European Court of Human Rights, Çölgeçen and Others v. Turkey, 12 December 2017, especially paragraphs 5–13 and 52–57.
  5. UNHCR Iraq, The Refugee Education Integration Policy: implementation, language support and access challenges.
  6. Rudaw, Demand for Kurdish Education Rises in Disputed Areas Despite Shortages, 4 October 2026: interviews with educators and a family.