Earthquake Leaves 25.000 Students Without Schools in Syria’s Raqqa
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – About 25.000 students have stopped attending schools after damage incurred by the buildings during the Feb. 6 earthquake, an official of the Raqqa Civil Council Education Committee said on Saturday.
Khalaf al-Matar, Co-chair of the Education Committee, said 40 schools were out of service due to the earthquake.
On Feb. 6, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Syria and Turkey, killing more than 44.000 and injuring many more, in addition to destroying thousands of buildings.
Al-Matar told North Press that after assessing the damages of the buildings, they decided to suspend schooling, as they were not safe to receive students.
The official noted that five schools of these schools are located within the city, while the remainder are found in the countryside of Raqqa.
Until an alternative mechanism is found, school will continue to be suspended until early March, according to al-Matar.
He went further, saying an engineering advisory committee was formed to assess the integrity of the school buildings and identify damage.
Attending schools will resume based on the committee’s assessment, and in the case that buildings are unable to be renovated, new solutions will be found, the Co-chair said.