The Ministry of Higher Education in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has approved the opening of a Syriac Language Department, in its Eastern dialect (Sureth), at the College of Education at Nohadra (Dohuk) University, starting from the current academic year.

According to independent Assyrian MP in the Kurdistan Parliament, James Hassado, who shared the news on his Facebook page, the decision came following nearly two years of extensive academic discussions between the university administration and Professor Efrem Yildiz, a specialist in the Eastern Syriac dialect and a professor at the University of Salamanca in Spain.

These discussions, according to Hassado, led to the joint approval of the proposal by both Nohadra and Salamanca universities. This was followed by official endorsement from the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Higher Education, effectively turning this academic initiative into reality with the establishment of the Sureth Department, which will officially launch this academic year.

Hassado also noted that a joint degree agreement between Nohadra (Dohuk) University and the University of Salamanca will be signed soon. This makes the department one of the few and exceptional academic programs in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, as it will award students dual degrees--one from each university.

Such steps, along with other cultural efforts in Beth Nahrain--the ancestral homeland of the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people--renew hope among the community and inspire members of the diaspora to return home, revive their language and culture, and pass it on to future generations.