Aiming at setting curriculums of the first stages of law colleges in Kurdistan Region universities, supervised by Dr. Yusuf Goran, the KRG Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, On Monday October 5th, 2015 the committee tasked with making revision on curriculums of law departments held a meeting at the ministry’s divan in Erbil.
Dr. Ibrahim Smo, Head of the Education and Higher Education Committee in the Kurdistan Parliament, Dr. Rewaz Fayaq, Determiner of the Education and Higher Education Committee, Dr. Najdat Aqrawi, Head of Research and Development Office at the Ministry of Higher Education, attended the meeting.
Opening the meeting, Dr. Yusuf Goran said: “Aiming at raising the higher education quality, and joining this sector to the job market and optimizing this sector with current Kurdistan Region’s developments, we have decided to review all curriculums of our universities. In this mission, we will consult the related sides. Several months ago when we started to review the curriculums of law colleges in Kurdistan Region universities, we consulted the representative of the Judicial Council of the KRG Ministry of Justice, representative of Kurdistan Union of Jurists, and representative of the Kurdistan Lawyers Syndicate, and their suggestions were taken into consideration.”
“These changes are radical changes and they are not only the extension of education duration into five years, but they include the aspects of language, passing ratio, curriculums and the practical aspects education, and several other aspects, particularly regarding the practice of those laws which are studied at the region’s law colleges,” he clarified.
Concluding his speech, Dr. Yusuf Goran indicated to the importance of learning language and said: “According to a recent academic research which has been published in a Korean magazine, 90 per cent of all academic subjects that are published globally are in the English Language, and only five per cent of the academic subjects are published in other languages.”
Therefore, Mr. Goran addressed the attendees to fully prioritize the learning of English Language, indicating since learning languages will have key roles in developing the society.
The KRG minister also stressed that in changing curriculums of law departments, the legal situation in Kurdistan region should be taken into consideration.
In another part of the meeting, Dr. Ibrahim Smo said: “We as the Kurdistan Parliament have full trust in the works of Mr. Goran and his ministry, therefore, that big mission which you accomplished basically is our duty, and accordingly we support you and applaud you, and deem the changing curriculums of law colleges as a big shift towards development.”
On her part, Dr. Rewaz Fayaq said: “We in the Committee of Education and Higher Education Committee have agreed on improving the quality of education, and we support all works and projects by the ministry of higher education towards improving the quality of education. Changing curriculums, including the legal aspect is one of the vital and best deeds, since the law aspect is related to the organizing of social life, and accordingly by improving the law departments we can build a healthy society.”
Then, Dr. Najdat Aqrawi briefed the attendees on those changes that have been made and which are decided upon in law departments. He clarified they will settle curriculums of the first stages of law colleges in Kurdistan Region universities at the meeting, since the decision of changing curriculums are binding from the current academic year.
The attendees proposed several subjects that to be put within curriculums of the first stages of law colleges in Kurdistan Region public and private universities. Finally, it has been decided that within a fortnight and based upon the presented proposals, heads of law departments at Kurdistan Region universities to prepare their proposals on curriculum subjects for the first stages, in order to be finally accepted.
The attendees also decided that in a period of two months heads of law departments at Kurdistan Region universities should prepare curriculums of the other stages of law colleges.