Shafaq News – Ilam
Educational and cultural institutions in Iran’s Ilam Province have launched, for the first time, an academic course focused on teaching Kurdish reading and writing, Iranian media outlets reported on Thursday.
The course was held in the city of Ilam and targeted university lecturers as well as post-secondary educators specializing in Persian language studies. Organizers said the program aims to equip participants with the skills required to teach using Kurdish within an academic framework.
In parallel, online Kurdish language courses were introduced for middle and secondary school students in the city of Avno, also located in Ilam Province, expanding access to Kurdish-language education beyond classroom settings.
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Kamran Rahimi, a writer and researcher from Ilam, said approximately 100 teachers of Persian language and literature from secondary schools and universities participated in the program. He explained that the training was designed to prepare educators to deliver lessons in Kurdish.
Rahimi, who heads the Zagros Scientific Institute, noted that similar initiatives were implemented across areas he described as eastern southern Kurdistan, extending from Kermanshah through Lorestan to Ilam Province.
He added that a separate Kurdish language course was organized for 40 female students at the middle and secondary levels in the city of Awdanan, marking the first such program in the area.
The Zagros Scientific Institute was founded by linguists, writers, and Kurdish language specialists with a mandate to develop Kurdish language, literature, and arts in the region.
According to Rahimi, the institute has participated in several international conferences. Its activities include academic research, publishing, literary editing, cultural festival jury work, and supervision of multiple book publications.
He said the institute has also organized specialized classroom-based programs in recent years to train teachers of the Kurdish language and literature. Participants are expected to receive accredited academic certificates after successfully passing future examinations.
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