Some must walk as far as 25 kilometers to reach the closest school.
Due to the lack of economic opportunities in the area and what is perceived as lack of support from the government, especially in the aftermath of the genocide carried out by the Islamic State against Yazidis in 2014,many families find it hard to pay for transportation.
Dlgash Dawood, a student at a Kurdish-language school in Sinune, told Rudaw that students are not able to complete the journey every day.
“We sometimes ask for free lifts. If they stop by, we would come, if not, the students are unable to attend their classes,” said Dlgash.
The school in question has decided to postpone the beginning of classes to 8:30, stressing that those who would make it on time could attend the classes and those who would not, would also not be admitted.
“It is very cold during winter time,” Dzhin Khalil, a female student told Rudaw, “we are on the way to the school for a long time. Many times we arrive half way through the lectures.”
Adapting to the needs of students covering such long distances to attend classes is also a challenge for their host institution.
“During the exam times, we are forced to hold the exams in three different groups, there are those who come at 9:00, some at 8:00 or 7:00,” said Barjas Halo, head of Bartaf school, acknowledging that “They do not have grades 9 [to 12 grade classes] in their areas, that is why they have to brave the road.”
According to the department of Kurdish-language schools in Shingal, there are 62 schools in the area that teach in Kurdish. They host approximately 15,000 students.
Nizar Shingali, a Kurdish education teacher in the area said some of the schools have two shifts, one during which they teach in Arabic and one during which they teach in Kurdish. He added that some of the students return to their homes in the dark hours in the evening.
Naif Saido, the mayor of Shingal , told Rudaw that the Arabic education schools in the area face fewer problems because they can afford to provide financial aid to those students whose parents are on social care, as well as providing food for their students.
He lamented the fact that the number of students who attend Kurdish schools have dropped year by year. The Kurdish education department noted a 15 percent reduction in attendance compared to last year.
The brutal takeover of Shingal by ISIS in August 2014 forced the displacement of more than 350,000 Yazidis to the IDP camps of the Kurdistan Region. Of this number, only 14,000 families have returned to the city, according to data from Shingal's local authorities.
Yazidis in Shingal were subjected to countless heinous atrocities, including forced marriages, sexual violence, and massacres when the Islamic State (ISIS) captured the city in 2014, bringing destruction to many villages and towns populated by the minority group and committing genocide.
The Shingal mayor told Rudaw in August that 60 percent of Shingal residents still live in IDP camps and houses in the Kurdistan Region, mainly in Duhok province.
