Mazloum Abdi outlines Kurdish-language schooling and YPJ role in Syrian Interior Ministry
In an interview with Nuçe TV, Mazloum Abdi said Kurdish will be used through key exam years alongside Arabic and that the YPJ has been accepted as special counterterrorism forces within Syria’s Interior Ministry in Cizire and Kobani.
Mazloum Abdi has sketched out a set of changes he says will shape both education and security in Kurdish-led parts of Syria, describing new Kurdish-language teaching and an agreement on the future of the Women’s Protection Units.
In an interview with Kurdish outlet Nuçe TV, Abdi said Grade 9 and baccalaureate education will be conducted in Kurdish, with schooling divided equally between Kurdish and Arabic. He described Kurdish as an official language of education. According to him, this arrangement is meant to let students study in Kurdish during decisive exam years while maintaining Arabic instruction alongside it.
On security, Abdi said an agreement has been reached for the YPJ to join the Syrian Interior Ministry. He stated that the YPJ has been accepted as two separate special counterterrorism forces in the Cizire and Kobani regions.
The YPJ emerged as an all‑female Kurdish force that played a prominent role in the fight against the Islamic State group. Positioning it as a pair of special units under the Interior Ministry would give it a formal place in Syria’s state security structure, if carried through as described.
For Kurdish families, the education shift Abdi outlined would mean children taking core exams in their own language while still learning in Arabic. For teachers and officials, it would require new curricula, materials and training that reflect the promised balance between the two languages.
Bringing the YPJ under the Interior Ministry as special counterterrorism forces could change how operations are coordinated and funded in Cizire and Kobani. It could also raise questions about how much autonomy YPJ commanders retain once they are embedded in a central ministry.
The interview signals an attempt to anchor both Kurdish language use in schools and the YPJ’s future role inside Syrian state structures. Developments to watch include whether Damascus formally confirms the Interior Ministry arrangements, how quickly schools in the relevant areas shift to Kurdish‑Arabic dual instruction at the levels Abdi described, and whether any public disagreements emerge over the status and deployment of the YPJ units.
Sources
- OSINT