KRG declares support for educators on 58th year of Kurdistan Teachers Union
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Thursday, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani reiterated the government’s support of educators after nearly 60 years since of the establishment of Kurdistan Teacher’s Union.
“On the 58th anniversary of the foundation of the Kurdistan’s Teachers Union, I extend my warmest congratulations to the administration and all the members of the union, wishing them success,” Barzani said, according to a statement released by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
“The Kurdistan Region’s teachers have played an essential and obvious role in educating the region's young generations, have vigorously participated in the Kurdistan Region's uprisings and the struggle for its rights throughout history, and have always has been to the front and center in the fight to defend the legitimate rights of the Kurdish nation,” the statement added.
“Despite the harsh and difficult times the region has witnessed,” Barzani continued, “they have always continued giving and carried on the sacred duty of education... That is why KRG will put forward all its efforts to the service of teachers and to further develop the process of education in the region.”
The Kurdistan’s Teachers Union was established in 1962 to represent all teachers across the Kurdistan Region, regardless of their nationality, religious beliefs, race, or political ideology.
Since late February, educational institutions such as schools, colleges, and universities across the Kurdistan Region have been shut down as part of attempts by the KRG to mitigate the risk posed by COVID-19, a highly contagious disease that can spread quickly in crowded buildings and during other public gatherings.
In late April, the regional Minister of Education announced in a televised speech on Thursday that an e-school program for grades one through twelve was now being implemented to help students keep up their studies during the anti-coronavirus curfew that has closed centers of learning throughout the autonomous region.
Read More: Kurdistan announces e-school initiative to restart classes amid COVID-19 curfew
“By taking Kurdistan Region’s reality into consideration, we decided to launch e-school portal services that students can benefit from,” said Minister Alan Hama Saeed at the press conference in Erbil.
“Each student has a personal account on the website so that they can listen and watch to the recorded classes by their instructors,” Saeed explained the procedure. “Likewise, teachers and principals can also have access to the portal to monitor and supervise the student’s learning process,” the official explained further.
“The subjects are available in all the languages and dialects that are taught at schools,” Saeed said, naming the Kurdish dialects of Sorani and Kurmanji, Arabic, English, Turkmen, and Syriac.
Editing by John J. Catherine