Thousands of students out of class as Kobani schools become IDP shelters
KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – The Education Board of the Kurdish Autonomous Administration in Kobani, northern Syria, announced on Sunday that all schools in the city, 17 in total, have been closed after being converted into shelters for displaced families.
Sherin Abdi, Co-Chair of the Education Board in Kobani, told North Press that the education process in the city has been suspended since Jan. 15.
She explained that the second academic term had been scheduled to begin on Jan. 25, but ongoing conflict and the use of schools as displacement shelters have halted all educational activities.
Abdi said that approximately 72,000 students in Kobani and its surrounding countryside are currently deprived of education due to the conversion of schools into shelters.
She added that a total of 572 schools in Kobani, Sirrin, Qanaya, and Ain Issa had been operating with a workforce of 4,190 staff members, all of whom are now out of work.
According to the Co-Chair of Kobani’s Education Board, the total number of schools under the administration in Kobani and its rural areas stands at 106.