By Dilsoz Youssef
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – For the fifth consecutive year, thousands of students in the northern countryside of Hasakah, Northeast Syria, face an uncertain future as their education remains on hold due to the destruction of schools by Turkish shelling.
The ongoing conflict has left hundreds of students without access to classrooms, with many schools repurposed as shelters for internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Following the control of the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), of key areas in 2019, including Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad, schools in nearby villages have become makeshift homes for families fleeing the violence.
This has caused widespread concern among local residents in Tel Tamr, a town 45 kilometers north of Hasakah, where parents fear their children are at risk of illiteracy.
A generation at risk
In the village of Rukba, just south of Tel Tamr, the 60-year-old Zahiya Muhammad expresses deep concern about the future of her grandchildren. With their village school now a shelter for displaced families, about 1,500 boys and girls in Rukba have been out of school for years.
“The children spend their days playing in the streets,” says Muhammad. “A whole generation is growing up without education, and this will lead to a failed future for our children.”
She added that despite repeated pleas to relocate the IDPs and reopen the schools, no action has been taken. “We don’t have the financial means to send our children to schools in Tel Tamr or Hasakah,” she said, highlighting the economic struggles many families in the area face.
In the nearby village of Tel Hafyan, Ahmad al-Fares shares similar frustrations. The father of seven runs a small meat shop and says none of his children, all over six years old, can read or write.
“There are about 1,200 students here who haven’t had access to education for five years,” he said. “We have a school in the village, but it’s filled with IDPs, and no one has found a solution.”
The displacement crisis is not confined to a single village. Schools in the neighboring areas also serve as shelters for IDPs, leaving parents like al-Fares with no affordable alternative to educate their children.
Thousands of students left behind
In recent years, the local school administration, operating under the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), has tried to address the issue by setting up caravans as makeshift classrooms in several villages. However, these efforts have fallen short in accommodating the thousands of displaced students.
Khedr al-Aleiwi, co-chair of the AANES school administration in Tel Tamr, explains that Turkish shelling has destroyed about 20 schools in the area, either completely or partially.
“As a result of Turkish aggression, many families have fled their villages and moved into Tel Tamr’s schools,” al-Aleiwi says. “These attacks have deprived nearly 3,000 students of their right to an education.”
Al-Aleiwi added that the continued shelling and the presence of IDPs in the region’s schools make it nearly impossible to provide consistent education, especially in areas along the front lines.
The unstable security situation and the economic hardships many families face further complicate the situation, as few can afford to send their children to private institutes or hire private teachers.