A Ministry of Education formal directive dated October 6 informs its administrative division across Iraq that all students of Arabic language education schools shall pass Kurdish language class, even if they lack the legally required grades. 

English Journalist Shalaw Omar from Kirkuk told KurdSat that Baghdad gradually works to push away Kurdish language education and said, "every year Kurdish language education students face many problems, whereas the education is legal."

The ministry's decree only covers Arabic language schools, not Kurdish ones. A Kurdish student failing an Arabic language class would count as falling in the entire school year. 

Omar added, "The decision that makes one pass a class even though they fail the subject would encourage students to ignore it and undermine it in their eyes," Omar added. 

"It is a wrong decision that violates the constitution because Kurdish and Arabic are the official languages of Iraq," Chairman Kirkuk branch of Kurdistan Teacher's Union Kamal Sharif told KurdSat English. 

Iraqi lawmaker Sabah Qadir has sent the ministry of education a formal letter asking for revising the ministry's directive, calling it a violation of minatory rights in Kirkuk, especially the Kurds. 

In an interview today, Friday, Director of General Board for Kurdistani Areas Outside the Region (GBKAOR) Fahmi Burhan told KurdSat English, "I believe that the Ministry of Education's decision is part of the process against the Kurdish language in the region and Kurdish agriculture and efforts against our farmers, and education in the past few months is not new." The director was referring to Kirkuk's efforts that downplay the use of the Kurdish language in the governorate and the disputed territories. The use of the Kurdish language on billboards and public places was removed, while other minority languages, such as Turkmen and Assyrian, have remained.  

"Recently, Kirkuk health directorate decided to ban the use of the Kurdish language on its letterheads and paperwork, revealing a push against the Kurdish language. A chauvinistic outlook is leading to undermining the constitution and coexistence in the region, and there is no justification for the ministry's decision," the director added.

"We would take legal action as GBKAOR and call on civil society NGOs to take to the street," the directed told KurdSat English. 

The move comes amid other Arabization in the Baghdad-controlled Kurdish regions since the 2017 independence referendum that relocated control from the peshmerga forces to the Iraqi army and militia. 

Many Kurdish officials have been sidelined in the disputed territories, especially Kirkuk's administration and security forces, and replaced with Arab and Turkmen officials. Also, preventing Kurdish farmers from watering their crops and forcing or encouraging Kurdish villagers to leave the disputed territories have been among the numerous soft Arabization efforts since 2017. 

The disputed territory authorities expel Kurdish farmers from their farmlands; even if a farmer has his crops planted, the authorities will prevent them from irrigating their farm and ask them to leave. The decision is justified by paperwork done in the Baathist era that "proves" that the farmlands belonged to Arabs. 

Baghdad is largely silent on the matter, and no effort is made to stop the soft Arabization of the disputed territories. The 2005 Iraqi constitution asks residents of the disputed territories to decide in a plebiscite whether they want to go with the Kurdistan Region Government or Baghdad. It limits the time to conduct the referendum to be at most six months. Seventeen years on, still the region remains disputed between the Kurdistan region and Baghdad.