18 Days of Hunger Strike Only Helps 18 Kurdish Teachers

Waiting for an assignment for 2 years, Kurdish-language teachers have reacted against the education ministry’s opening of only 18 permanent positions despite their hunger strike for 18 days. 

Following the instruction of Kurdish language as a facultative subject in secondary schools by September 2012, various universities opened up master-level courses of Kurdish Language and Literature. 

Turkey’s first Kurdish-language teacher left their existing jobs or cities to enroll for faculties to become certified instructors. 

Several politicians including PM pledged that they would be assigned to public schools. 

Around 1,500 students graduated in 2013 and 2014 from universities in Diyarbakır, Mardin, Muş and Bingöl. 

However, they were unable to find a job in public schools last year. 

In 2014, hoping to get an assignment, they started a rotation-based hunger strike for 18 days in Mardin. 

However, the education ministry declared that it would only assign 18 candidates. 

“The government failed to pass the sincerity test”

“I don’t know what job I can do after this,” Yusuf Aslan, alumni at Mardin Artuklu University Kurdology Department, said.  

Having done his undergraduate studies in Turkish-language teaching, Aslan hoped to be one of Turkey’s first Kurdish-language teachers. 

“Our demand was something that could be handled as a basic human right. Assigning 18 people is rather funny. The government failed to pass the sincerity test.

“We have lost our hopes regarding the peace process even though people risked their bodies to death with hunger strikes for 18 days. We don’t know what to do after this. They left us no choice.” (NV/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.