Private educational institutions are an alternative to the education at schools in Idlib

The field of education  is regressing in the northwest of Syria due to the forced displacement of the people, the difficulty of living and the parent’s fear from sending their children to the schools because of the constant clashes, and bombardment by the government forces on the educational institutions.

In addition to the severe lack of teaching staff and required manuals in that field.

Despite the interest of many organizations in education and securing all the necessities in this regard, they did not succeed in keeping the specter of ignorance away from many students who lost their breadwinners and had to work to secure their needs and support their families.

While some parents, despite their poor living conditions, sought to educate their children in private institutes in order to acquire new skills as well as many activities that they are doing in those institutes, which have recently spread.

These institutes are located on the ground floors or far from the residential neighborhoods for securing the safety of the lives of students from shelling or bombing.

“Dar Al-Elm” Institute in Ariha, southern countryside of Idlib, one of those institutes that sought to teach the students and provide everything available in terms of competent teachers, adequate rooms and school supplies of notebooks and other needed equipment for the student.

In an interview of North Press with Iyad Halo, one of the teachers of the Institute, about the establishment of the Institute and the curricula that is being studied, he said:

“The Institute was established by a personal effort in order to provide something for the students, helps them to shape his future successfully”.

We consider that the specialization in teaching certificates levels (ninth grade and twelfth grade) enables the student to understand the curriculum of his graduation year much better than teaching other transitional levels.

As for the teaching curricula, he says; “There is a lot of similarities between the curricula we teach and the one of the Syrian regime with a slight difference in some books.”

“There are students who prefer to have their exams in the areas of the regime in Hama or nearby areas where they can go out and submit their exams, while others prefer to have their exams at the directorates of education in the liberated areas,” Halo said.

As for charges  taken from students he explained,” the basic idea is to save the students from the risk of the ignorance in the liberated areas due to fear of shelling and lack of money for the parents to educate their children, so we charge a nominal amount for a subject during the two semesters in a way that achieves a financial return that helps the teachers meet their needs, we do not overload the student.”

 In terms of teaching staff at the Institute he said that the teaching staff is a group of specialists who have experience in the field of education for several years, sometimes they  give students the chance to choose the teacher whom they have studied with before and had a certain method in teaching they benefit from.

Reham, a student at the Institute, says, “Now I am in the ninth grade and I hope to I complete my studies away from the war and displacement, and the difficulty of moving to the areas of the Government control.”

She decided to submit her exams in the areas of the Syrian government, saying; “I find that the certificate of the Government  is recognized by all countries, regardless of my residence in the opposition control areas”.

It is noteworthy that the private institutes have received great acceptance among many parents and students who found a significant weakness in teaching staff and clear neglect by the directorates of education in the Syrian opposition areas schools.