Rebuilding Syria’s schooling system is not only about restoring school rooms, however about providing an opportunity for a misplaced era to rebuild their lives and safe a greater future for the nation.
For over a decade, the Syrian battle has forged a shadow over the way forward for a complete era. The battle started in 2011 as a part of a wider wave of uprisings within the Arab world, with Syrians protesting the oppressive rule of President Bashar al-Assad. What began as peaceable demonstrations rapidly escalated right into a brutal warfare, pitting opposition teams, together with extremist organizations just like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and international powers towards the Assad regime and its supporters in Russia and Iran. The following violence and destruction has resulted in one of the largest refugee displacements since World Battle II, with over 5.6 million Syrians searching for refuge in neighboring international locations and past, and over 7.4 million displaced internally.
Syrian youngsters—as soon as crammed with goals of careers in medication, science, and the humanities—have had their schooling upended. The warfare destroyed or severely damaged almost 50 p.c of the nation’s faculties, leaving hundreds of thousands of kids with out entry to schooling. Disadvantaged of their proper to be taught, develop, and put together for a greater future, these youngsters are susceptible to turning into a “lost generation,” help teams have anxious.
Though lastly over, the battle has left all the nation fractured and struggling to rebuild. Nonetheless, with the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, a novel alternative now exists to rebuild not simply Syria’s infrastructure and political methods, however the very basis of its future: schooling.
“The deterioration of schooling in Syria stands as one of the vital profound penalties of the extended 14-year battle,” Radwan Ziadeh believes. A senior analyst on the Arab Middle in Washington, D.C., Ziadeh can be founding father of the Damascus Middle for Human Rights Research. “Addressing and prioritizing the restoration and reform of the schooling system is crucial for the nation’s restoration and long-term stability.”
Nonetheless, this chance is fraught with challenges. Regardless of the super potential for Syria now, there are crucial considerations in regards to the nation’s future. The emergence of recent energy dynamics and competing pursuits might affect the path of academic reforms. Amid these complexities, rebuilding an schooling system that meets the wants of displaced youth and others who’ve spent years in uncertainty would require cautious planning and coordination amongst all stakeholders.
Syria’s Schooling System: A Snapshot Earlier than the Battle
To rebuild efficiently, Syria might want to be taught from the strengths and weaknesses of its pre-war schooling system. Earlier than the warfare, Syria’s schooling system was thought-about one of the vital developed within the Arab world, marked by important funding and broad entry. In 2009, Syria allotted 5.1 percent of its GDP to schooling, significantly greater than most different Arab international locations even in 2022, reflecting the federal government’s deal with strengthening its academic infrastructure.
Elementary schooling, which spanned grades 1 to six, was free and obligatory in pre-war Syria, and enrollment at that stage reached almost 100 percent by the point the battle started. Secondary schooling, the place pre-war enrollment reached 70 p.c, was largely public and free, though college students might pay charges to entry sure applications based mostly on educational efficiency. By 2014, over 2.5 million college students had been enrolled in elementary schooling, with almost 3 million in secondary schooling. (To be taught extra, learn “Education in Syria.”)
Increased schooling was additionally state funded, with seven public universities and 20 personal. Some of the distinguished establishments within the area, Damascus College, based in 1923, attracted college students from throughout the Arab world. By the 2012/13 educational yr, about 659,000 college students had been enrolled in each private and non-private larger schooling establishments.
Regardless of its many successes, Syria’s schooling system confronted quite a lot of broadly acknowledged challenges. For instance, a defining function of Syria’s pre-war schooling system was using Arabic because the language of instruction in any respect ranges, not solely elementary and secondary schooling but additionally larger schooling. All disciplines—together with medication, engineering, and the sciences—had been taught in Arabic. Whereas this coverage was meant to advertise the nationwide language, it additionally confronted criticism, notably in larger schooling, as many Arab countries use English in scientific disciplines. Some critics argued that reliance on Arabic restricted college students’ entry to global academic research and hindered their capability to take part in worldwide educational {and professional} communities, the place English or different languages had been generally used.
In Syria’s extremely centralized larger schooling system, political interference, together with political management over admissions and employees appointments, was additionally commonplace. “The schooling system was closely influenced by the ideological preferences of the ruling regime, typically leading to an strategy that centered extra on indoctrination than crucial pondering,” mentioned Talal al-Shihabi, an engineering professor at Damascus College who obtained a doctoral diploma from Northeastern College, in the USA.
The system additionally confronted structural problems, similar to overcrowded school rooms, outdated curricula, and restricted analysis capability. “The college admission coverage, which aimed to accommodate a lot of college students, contributed to a decline within the general high quality of schooling,” in keeping with Al-Shihabi. “This problem was additional exacerbated by inadequate infrastructure and restricted human assets, hindering the power to supply high quality schooling for all college students.”
Lastly, though public larger schooling was nominally free, the rise of personal universities and paid pathways into public universities, similar to parallel and open studying, led to higher numbers of scholars paying charges. By 2009, 44 p.c of scholars had been paying charges. This shift deepened social inequalities, as entry to schooling grew to become more and more depending on one’s monetary assets, with solely those that might afford to pay larger charges gaining enrollment.
“In actuality, the success of schooling in Syria was largely pushed by the person efforts of Syrians to be taught and develop abilities, reasonably than by the schooling system itself,” al-Shihabi mentioned.
Destruction of Academic Infrastructure As a consequence of Battle
The battle modified Syria’s schooling system profoundly. Throughout the nation, preventing severely broken infrastructure, together with faculties, universities, and academic services. Academic establishments had been targeted, both immediately by bombings or not directly by the breakdown of native safety and governance. UNICEF and different worldwide our bodies have reported that greater than 7,000 faculties have been broken or destroyed by the preventing, with many situated in essentially the most affected areas: Aleppo, Idlib, and Daraa.
The warfare brought on huge displacement of scholars and academics, each inside Syria and to neighboring international locations. Greater than 7.4 million Syrians had been internally displaced, whereas 5.6 million sought refuge overseas, in keeping with the UNHCR. Consequently, hundreds of thousands of kids and younger adults have been minimize off from the chance to acquire an schooling.
Refugee youngsters, particularly in international locations like Jordan, Lebanon, and Türkiye, confronted overcrowded school rooms and a scarcity of academic assets, exacerbating the difficulties concerned in persevering with their research. In lots of instances, refugee youngsters needed to take care of language obstacles, lack of certified academics, and shoddy services.
Persevering with or accessing college schooling has confirmed much more troublesome for Syrian refugees, particularly for these missing enough documentation, similar to delivery certificates, identification, and educational information, which are sometimes misplaced or unavailable. (Learn two associated articles: “The Importance of Higher Education for Syrian Refugees” and “The Refugee Crisis and Higher Education: Access Is One Issue. Credentials Are Another.”)
Moreover, in some international locations, like Lebanon and Türkiye, Arabic shouldn’t be the medium of instruction. In these international locations, college students are required to display proficiency within the language of instruction earlier than enrolling, creating yet one more barrier to larger schooling.
Financing can be a typical hurdle. Nations like Jordan and Lebanon deal with refugees as if they’re worldwide college students and cost them excessive tuition charges. Since 2015, a wave of scholarships from European organizations has supplied some monetary aid, however the funding has not been sufficient to fulfill the wants of all refugees. And as philanthropic support declined over the next years, the curiosity in college schooling amongst Syrian refugee college students additionally waned. Many Syrian refugees in neighboring international locations, the place job opportunities after graduation were limited, started to question the value of a degree and to redirect their restricted assets in the direction of discovering a way to migrate to Europe as a substitute. Though academic alternatives for refugees in European international locations, for many who reached one, had been higher, college schooling remained expensive and unattainable for a lot of.
“Schooling was merely centered on entry on the expense of high quality and continuity whereas being approached in a clustered method reasonably than being holistic and built-in with safety, psychosocial help, and oldsters’ engagement,” mentioned Massa Al-Mufti, founder and president of the Sonbola Group for Education and Development, which helps refugee schooling in Lebanon. “This restricted view neglected the truth that schooling in emergencies is not only about literacy and numeracy, it requires an understanding of the broader wants of the youngsters, wants that embody social, emotional, and household engagement,” she defined.
Youngsters who remained in Syria all through the warfare confronted their very own difficulties. The fragmentation of the nation’s schooling system into regime-controlled and opposition-held areas additional sophisticated issues, leading to a disjointed sector with various ranges of entry and high quality.
In areas below opposition control, college closures had been widespread. Lecturers, dealing with threats from each authorities forces and armed opposition teams, struggled to show. In some areas, opposition teams, together with ISIS, imposed their own education policies, limiting or altering curricula to align with their ideology.
Nonetheless, new universities did emerge in non-regime-controlled areas, however they confronted difficulties, together with an absence of recognition, inadequate assets, and a scarcity of certified educational employees. This has additional fractured the academic system in Syria, leaving giant parts of the coed inhabitants with out entry to an accredited schooling.
In areas managed by the Assad regime, officers more and more militarized the upper schooling sector, utilizing it as a device to regulate and suppress opposition actions. The regime intensified its management over universities, with safety apparatuses, together with Assad’s Ba’ath Party and the National Security Bureau, growing their affect. College students and college members opposing the federal government had been subjected to violence, purges, and imprisonment, whereas educational freedom was stifled.
The warfare additionally led to an increase in corruption within the education sector. Reviews of forged certificates, bribery for grade manipulation, and favoritism in college admissions had been widespread, particularly with the federal government’s growing reliance on loyalty to the regime as a situation for entry to schooling and job alternatives. This deepened social inequalities, notably for college students who didn’t have the monetary means or political connections to safe locations at universities.
Regardless of the destruction and displacement, the variety of college students enrolling in larger schooling elevated in government-controlled areas, partly due to relaxed entrance insurance policies geared toward preserving college students occupied and delaying their potential army conscription. Lately, the variety of enrolled college students reached roughly 600,000, despite the fact that schooling high quality had plummeted.
Mind drain, with many qualified academics fleeing the nation, has additional deteriorated the academic atmosphere, leaving universities understaffed and underfunded. The continued political isolation of Syria, compounded by Western sanctions, has shifted the nation’s educational relationships to different allies, similar to Russia and Iran.
“The rise within the variety of college students coincided with a scarcity of certified academics. A major variety of these despatched overseas for doctoral research earlier than the warfare didn’t return, and the restricted availability of scholarship alternatives, exacerbated by sanctions and the nation’s isolation, has additional decreased the pool of certified new candidates,” mentioned al-Shihabi. “Consequently, some specialised fields, similar to engineering and well being disciplines, are left with only a few educating employees members over the past decade,” he famous.
“Over the previous 14 years, persevering with schooling inside Syria has been a relentless battle for each college students and academics. The continued lack of safety, deteriorating dwelling circumstances, and the collapse of infrastructure have led to an unprecedented decline within the high quality of schooling, leading to a disaster of immeasurable proportions,” he mentioned.
Rebuilding Syria’s Schooling Submit-Assad
On December 8, 2024, opposition rebels superior on Damascus and compelled the collapse of the Assad regime. The Assad household fled to Russia. The rebels have since been within the technique of making an attempt to take management of the nation and type a brand new authorities.
The autumn of the Assad regime presents Syria with a novel alternative to rebuild after over a decade of battle. Regardless of widespread destruction, faculties and universities resumed operations shortly after the regime’s collapse, highlighting the resilience of Syria’s schooling sector. The federal government has additionally reinstated college students expelled for political causes, signaling a dedication to reconciliation.
Moreover, the brand new authorities has taken steps to take away any vestiges of the Assad rule. It has already begun revising the nationwide curriculum, eradicating content material tied to the previous regime. Universities, similar to Tishreen College in Latakia and Al-Baath College in Homs, have been renamed, to Latakia College and Homs College, respectively, to distance themselves from the Assad regime’s Ba’athist ideology. On the similar time, the brand new authorities, composed largely of Islamist teams, has sparked controversy because of the growing affect of Islamist themes within the new curriculum.
Important work stays to completely capitalize on the chance to rebuild the nation’s schooling system. A crucial problem within the rebuilding course of is addressing the hundreds of thousands of kids who missed years of education in the course of the battle. The return of refugees, a lot of whom have spent years in exile, additional complicates this activity. Many of those youngsters are academically behind, having missed important years of schooling. Specialised help will likely be needed to assist these returnees catch up academically, culturally, and psychosocially. Trauma-informed educating and psychological well being help will likely be essential to make sure efficient reintegration into school rooms. Language obstacles additionally pose a major problem, as many returnee college students at the moment are fluent in languages similar to English, French, or Turkish, making it troublesome for them to adapt to the native curriculum in Arabic. Addressing these gaps by focused language applications will likely be essential for the returnees’ profitable reintegration.
Al-Shahabi emphasizes the necessity for a complete survey to evaluate each materials harm within the schooling sector and human losses, highlighting the numerous scarcity of educating employees because of emigration in the course of the warfare, the suspension of international missions, and the return of those that went overseas.
Al-Shahabi additionally believes that assembly the speedy wants of Syria’s youth must be prioritized. This contains the event of other academic pathways, like vocational coaching and on-line studying platforms. Establishing coaching facilities, funding e-learning initiatives, and providing sector-specific workshops will equip college students with the sensible abilities needed for Syria’s restoration, notably in key sectors similar to well being care, development, know-how, and infrastructure restore.
Others echo his ideas. “As we work towards Syria’s restoration, it’s crucial to deal with constructing sensible abilities for youth and providing them alternatives for real-world coaching,” Firas Deeb, govt director of Hermon Team, wrote in an e mail.
Deeb was a moderator on the IGNITE Syria: Rise & Rebuild conference held in Damascus on February 15. The convention highlighted different challenges, together with regional disparities that complicate rebuilding efforts throughout the nation. City facilities like Damascus, Aleppo, and Latakia have extra universities nonetheless standing, however the establishments nonetheless depend on outdated curricula. Entry to personal sector internships is restricted, notably in sure fields. Areas like Hasakah, Tartous, and Qamishli, which get pleasure from some financial stability, present potential in sectors like agriculture and renewable power, however lack enough vocational coaching applications. In distinction, conflict-affected and rural areas similar to Idlib, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Southern Syria face severely broken academic infrastructure, a scarcity of skilled academics and supplies, and safety dangers that hinder college students’ capability to pursue larger schooling.
“Many areas nonetheless lack important assets similar to electrical energy, clear water, and dependable web, all of that are important for efficient schooling. Restoring these primary utilities should be prioritized to make sure that rebuilt faculties can perform successfully,” mentioned Deeb. Nonetheless, he famous, “Rebuilding Syria’s academic infrastructure is essential, however so too is reshaping curricula and educating strategies to create a contemporary, inclusive system.”
Others agree. “Some of the essential areas for intervention is the skilled growth of academics, which has been uncared for previously however is now a prime precedence,” mentioned Al-Mufti. “Empowering academics with superior abilities is important for driving significant change within the schooling sector.”
Syria’s future will depend on rebuilding an schooling system able to making ready its youth to fulfill the challenges forward. In the long run, the system should deal with creating its college students’ crucial pondering, problem-solving, and sensible abilities—key components needed for the nation’s reconstruction and for making ready a era to guide Syria’s restoration. Universities will play a key position in coaching future skilled engineers, medical doctors, scientists, and academics who will assist restore the nation’s infrastructure and economic system. Moreover, specialised fields similar to medical take care of warfare victims (together with burn remedy and prosthetics), development, city planning, and know-how will likely be important in addressing the aftermath of the warfare.
“Rebuilding Syria’s schooling system goes past restoring establishments—it requires a basic redesign to align schooling with financial restoration,” Deeb mentioned.
Collaborating for Syria’s Academic Restoration
The influence of rebuilding Syria’s schooling system might lengthen past the nation’s borders. It might be a catalyst for stability and peace, providing hope not just for Syria’s future but additionally for the broader area and the world.
“Schooling must be prioritized alongside different pressing points similar to safety and infrastructure, because it holds the potential to function a pathway to peacebuilding and reconciliation,” mentioned Al-Mufti. “Schooling can play a transformative position in rebuilding Syria and offering its youngsters with the talents wanted for a peaceable future.”
Which means that the international community additionally has a pivotal position to play in Syria’s restoration, notably in rebuilding its academic infrastructure. “After years of isolation, it’s time for Syria to construct partnerships with world universities and schooling methods to modernize curricula, emphasizing problem-solving and demanding pondering. The help of the worldwide neighborhood is crucial to strengthening the schooling system,” Ziadeh mentioned.
Lifting sanctions imposed on the previous authorities will likely be important to enabling funding to create a secure atmosphere conducive to long-term academic reforms. This can open avenues for partnerships between Syrian and worldwide universities, permitting for the event of applications tailor-made to the nation’s academic wants, together with curriculum reform and trainer coaching.
Worldwide organizations like UNESCO and the United Nations will play a pivotal position in offering technical experience and assets to rebuild Syria’s schooling system. Collaboration with NGOs centered on schooling will even be important in implementing localized applications for displaced populations and affected communities.
Worldwide cooperation will even be important when addressing the wants of Syrians who had been pressured to flee in the course of the warfare. Whereas many advocate the return of refugees to Syria, it is very important acknowledge that the nation is not yet fully stable. Many areas stay insecure, lacking essential services for a secure return. Refugees who’ve constructed lives in different international locations additionally want continued native help, similar to scholarships and different technique of entry to academic program. This can assist make sure that Syria’s subsequent era is supplied to contribute to the nation’s restoration. The main focus must be on offering alternatives for refugees to accumulate invaluable abilities overseas which they will convey again to Syria when circumstances enhance.
Finally, Syria’s schooling system will likely be central to the nation’s long-term restoration. An informed, empowered youth will play a key position in rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, revitalizing its economic system, and guaranteeing its long-term stability. Investing in scholarships, vocational coaching, and worldwide change applications will assist rebuild Syria’s academic id and equip the following era to guide the nation ahead.
Rebuilding Syria’s schooling system is not only about restoring faculties; it’s about empowering the following era with the instruments to rebuild a greater, extra united Syria. The help of the worldwide neighborhood is crucial to make this course of inclusive, forward-thinking, and sustainable, guaranteeing that Syria heals and thrives as soon as once more.
