Iraqi Deputy Parliament Speaker Confirms Kurdish Exam Ban Decision “Not Enforceable”
Abdullah affirmed that the minister assured him the decision “will not be enforced and had not been applied last year either.”
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Iraqi Deputy Parliament Speaker Shakhawan Abdullah announced on Saturday that the controversial decision issued by the Federal Ministry of Higher Education banning Kurdish-language responses in university exams will not be implemented.
In a statement, Abdullah said he spoke directly with Minister of Higher Education Naeem Aboudi regarding the ministry’s directive, which barred students in Kirkuk, Mosul, and Diyala universities from answering exam questions in Kurdish. Abdullah affirmed that the minister assured him the decision “will not be enforced and had not been applied last year either.”
Abdullah expressed appreciation for Minister Aboudi’s clarification and emphasized the importance of protecting the constitutional status of the Kurdish language in Iraq. “The Minister told me he respects the Kurdish language, and the statement was the result of internal procedural confusion within the ministry,” he added.
The controversy began after the Higher Education Ministry issued an official letter on July 16, 2025, notifying universities in Kirkuk, Mosul, and Diyala that it had rescinded the 2010 policy, threatening legal action against institutions that allowed answers in Kurdish.
Following widespread backlash and high-level interventions, including from the Justice Ministry and the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Higher Education, the Federal Ministry appears to have backtracked on the directive.
