QAMISHLI/RAQQA — On a bright sunny day in late November, hundreds of college students celebrated their graduation in a din of ululation and patriotic songs at a fairground in the town of Qamishli in Kurdish-led northeast Syria. In scenes typical the world over, fresh graduates in prune-colored gowns waved their diplomas in one hand while tossing their caps into the air with the other. The jubilation was infectious, the swell of pride rising from their loved ones overwhelming.

But what comes next? It’s a pressing question. The credentials just received from the University of Rojava, or Western Kurdistan — established in 2016 by the Kurdish authorities — are not recognized by the central government in Damascus and therefore not outside Syria either.

Khalil Hamdi, who received his degree as a medical doctor after six years at Rojava University, said he was unfazed by the fact that he would not be able to practice his profession outside the region. “I am doing everything for my people and sooner or later my certificate will be recognized. We had a real revolution here,” Hamdi told Al-Monitor.

Squabbles over education are just the tip of the iceberg.