DARAA, Syria (North Press) – The student, Marwan Jum’a and his peers, along with secondary school teachers in the town of Jadal in the eastern countryside of Daraa, southern Syria, are forced to share their school classes with members of the State Security Branch of the government forces this year, which have been stationed in the educational building since 2018.
This situation continues despite the fact that the settlement agreement, which was concluded between the Syrian government forces and the opposition factions in the summer of 2018 brokered by Russia, stipulated the return of all military formations to their barracks.
However, the government forces and some security services are still stationing in six schools distributed in five villages in Lajat region, northeast of Daraa, where they have turned them as headquarters.
Girls deprived of education
A teacher from Lajat region, preferred not to be named, told North Press that the families of some female students in the preparatory and secondary stages in Jadal town stop sending their girls to schools, because members of the government forces harassed female students who attend schools.
Since the summer of 2018, the educational process has stopped in the schools of the towns of Eyeb, al-Masab, al-Jisri, al-Zubairah, al-Mudawwara, Hosh Hammad, due to the displacement of the residents of these villages after the government forces stormed them with Russian support at the time.
Despite the number of families returning to these villages, these schools remained closed due to the lack of security approvals for these schools, and some of them were converted into military headquarters, such as al- Masab School, al-Zubairah, al-Mudawwara, Eyeb and Hosh Hammad.
The teacher added that at least 15 schools in Lajat region have been completely destroyed since 2018.
Students of these schools have to travel long distances in order to complete their education in the town of Khabab, on the outskirts of Lajat, which is at least ten kilometers away from them, or in the town of al-Najih, which is seven kilometers away.
Teachers and students say that government agencies represented by the Directorate of Education in Daraa or non-governmental organizations have not renovated any school in this area.
Renting houses and turning them to schools
Last year, children in the village of al-Jisri in the middle of Lajat spent their school year in a stone house that was rented from one of the residents.
The students of al-Baqa’a village were more fortunate, as they studied in caravans provided by a non-governmental organization.
Locals said that the schools in the area suffer from a shortage of teaching staff, in addition to the reluctance of many teachers to come to the area, due to distances, scarcity of transportation and low teaching fees.
But this area is not the only one in Daraa governorate that is experiencing problems in terms of education, as the governorate in general suffers from a severe shortage of educational staff.
Education workers told North Press that the shortage of staff is caused by the migration of some young teachers abroad, to escape the war or conscription.
Also, many teachers have resorted to practicing another career other than teaching, due to the low teaching wages, where the teachers’ salary does not exceed 65,000 SYP (about $16) at best.
Civil initiatives to restore schools
On August 30, the UNRWA issued a statement expressing its grave concern about the damage to its facilities as a result of the ongoing armed conflict in southern Syria.
The statement pointed out that al-Safsaf and Ein Karem schools in Tariq al-Sad neighborhood on the outskirts of Daraa al-Balad region were damaged, including broken windows and doors, and structural damage to the walls.
The UNRWA indicated that it completely rehabilitated the school buildings in February 2020, after they had been badly damaged in the war.
It added that the Agency’s facilities, like all UN facilities, are raising the UN flag on their roof, while the Agency has not received any warning that hostilities will take place in an area very close to its schools.
In light of the inability of the Syrian government to restore and rehabilitate schools in Daraa, it is relying on civil initiatives or the assistance of international organizations to rehabilitate them.
Another teacher in the eastern countryside of Daraa, who preferred not to be named, told North Press that the schools of Sayda town in the eastern countryside of Daraa were renovated at the expense of the town’s residents, with a large contribution from the town’s expatriate residents.
The People’s Committee in the town of Khirbet Ghazala in the eastern countryside of Daraa has rehabilitated seven schools in the town at a cost of about 26 million SYP, according to the teacher.
He said that the Paris-based French Islamic Aid Organization, SIF, worked to rehabilitate ten schools in a number of villages and towns in the governorate.
Schools as shelters and settlement centers
The government forces used schools in the city of Daraa as a center to house the displaced who left Daraa al-Balad, Tariq al-Sad neighborhood and the camps over a period of 78 days before the agreement between the Central Committee in Daraa al-Balad and government forces, which ended with the return of the displaced to their homes.
A local source in the western countryside of Daraa told North Press that the government forces are using schools as centers to settle the status of wanted persons and oversee the handing of a number of light weapons.
As happened in the town of al-Yadouda and Tafas in the western countryside of Daraa, where the Tafas Secondary School for Girls has been closed to students since October 2 due to its transformation into a settlement center by the government security services.
Local sources said that the teaching staff and students were informed of their suspension until the settlement was completed, without specifying a date, and the students were not transferred to any other school.