Kurdish Language Demand Surges in Türkiye's Schools
Türkiye's Education Minister confirmed rising enrollment in optional Kurmanji and Zazaki courses while ruling out mother-tongue education as government policy.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Student enrollment in optional Kurdish-language courses in Türkiye has grown sharply over two consecutive academic years, Education Minister Yusuf Tekin confirmed on Wednesday, even as he made clear the government has no intention of institutionalizing Kurdish as a medium of instruction in schools.
Tekin made the disclosure in response to a parliamentary question from an opposition lawmaker. According to figures he released, the number of students selecting optional Kurmanji dialect courses rose from 21,559 in the 2023–2024 academic year to 30,862 in 2024–2025 — an increase of more than nine thousand students in a single year.
Enrollment in optional Zazaki dialect courses also climbed during the same period, growing from 3,244 students in 2023–2024 to 4,554 in 2024–2025.
Despite the upward trend, Tekin drew a firm line around how far the government is prepared to go. He stated that Türkiye has no plans to adopt mother-tongue instruction as a foundational policy, and clarified that assessments flagging shortfalls in optional course offerings are not official in nature.
The minister also noted that teaching materials for both Kurmanji and Zazaki dialects have been prepared for grades five through eight and are distributed to students free of charge. He added that the materials were designed in a way that respects cultural diversity and rejects all forms of discrimination.
The Ministry of Education outlined the conditions required for optional Kurdish-language classes — or any other language elective — to be opened at a given school. At least ten students must select the same course for a class to be established.
In cases where a qualified teacher is not available at the school in question, the ministry said it will either assign a teacher from another school or appoint an itinerant instructor to ensure continuity of instruction.