KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – The academic staff in the University of Kobani, north Syria, said the university needs to have a private building with scientific laboratories for practical exercises in order to contain new departments opened this year.
The students call for more faculties and departments to be opened, a dormitory for the students and some crucial elements they need to for their research and study.
They also call for job opportunities for the graduates.
The University of Kobani launched in September 30, 2017.
50 students enrolled in two departments; the first one was the Basic Science Faculty to teach mathematics, chemistry and physics. The second was the Faculty of Humanities which was limited to teaching Kurdish.
In 2021, 640 students were admitted to the university, according to the university presidency.
A residential building
Sherin Muslim, co-chair of the presidential board, said the current campus is a residential building not adequate to be a university.
Plans to admit more students and open new departments definitely need good buildings and a students’ dormitory.
150 students from outside Kobani city, including Shahba (Aleppo northern countryside where Afrin IDPs reside after they fled following the Turkish invasion in March 2018) and the Jazira region, enrolled at the university and they all need university accommodation.
At the beginning of 2021, the University of Kobani opened the Faculty of Arts and Humanities to teach geography, English, Arabic and education.
Technical, medical, law and administrative institutes were opened, too.
The new departments are opened according to the need of the local society. The Law and Administrative Institute was opened as the University board needs experts in administration. The Technical Institute was proposed by the management of Rojava Dam as they need mechanics and electricians.
Accordingly, the academic staff included 8 members at first and now they contain 100 lecturers some of them are postgraduates and professors.
Simple experiments
The university set up a non-sophisticated lab so that students of the scientific departments can do simple experiments, lecturers said.
Jamal Wali, a lecturer at the Department of Chemistry said most of the departments, including chemistry, physics and biology rely on practical exercises and need laboratory tools.
“The University of Kobani faces difficulties to provide lab equipment because they are all imported from Kurdistan region or from Syrian government-held areas,” the lecturer said.
The labs are supplied with simple tools for the university students to do simple experiments and lacks sophisticated tools, therefore lecturers cannot do experiments or research themselves.
The university needs a scientific and comprehensive research on Kobani city and its resources.
Other requirements
“Opening new departments increased the number of students registered at the University of Kobani. New departments are still needed to help students choose among a variety of fields of study because many students are not able to go to Qamishli-based Rojava University to study medicine or law,” Rojin Ali, a first year student at the Faculty of Class Teacher said.
The University of Kobani should have the international recognition to allow students pursue their postgraduate studies abroad, Ali added.
Mahmoud Issa, a second year student at the Medical Laboratory Institute said the laboratory needs lots of medical equipment and tools to empower practical exercises.
“Northeast Syria is an agricultural society and a faculty of agriculture needs to be opened, too,” Issa added.
Issa believes the Autonomous Administration is committed to provide job opportunities for the graduates every year.