KRG Minister of State for Minority Affairs: We seek to include the history of the region’s minorities in our educational curricula

ANKAWA, Iraq – On Monday, the Minister of State for Minority Affairs in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), Aydin Maruf, met with a number of officials of the cultural institutions of the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people in Iraq to discuss the need to include the history of minority populations of the region within the educational curricula at all levels.

Minister Maruf met with both the Head of the Hudiab Association, Dr. Habib Hanna, and the Head of the Syriac Writers Union, Rund Bulus. During the meeting, Bulus stated that, in addition to the history of the Kurds, the history of the other peoples of the KRI should be included in the curricula of all elementary, intermediate, and preparatory stages. Bulus also said that the histories should be written by specialists from each component in a brief, realistic, and true manner in accordance with contemporary academic norms.

In a telephone conversation with Ankawa.com, Bulus highlighted that Maruf confirmed during the meeting that the regional government views the initiative positively and hopes that this project will contribute to enhancing coexistence and civil peace in the region.

Bulus stated that the meeting also touched on the possibility of inaugurating the Syriac Language Department in Nohadra (Duhok) Governorate. Bulus also indicated that Minister Maruf also suggested that civil and cultural organizations and institutions should form a high committee to activate and strengthen their role in society and had met earlier with a number of Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian officials, administrators, and educators regarding the drafting of their history for use in textbooks.