BY Maher Mustafa
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Ali al-Najras prefers to bring tutors to teach his children at home, even if this will be more expensive, rather than sending them to government schools due to the poor quality of education, inadequate curriculum, and its inclusion of the Shiite doctrine.
Al-Najras, 45, a resident of al-Asharah town in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, told North Press that government schools have been turned into Shiite religious centers for teaching the Shiite doctrine, and education in these schools has deteriorated due to the teaching staff, most of whom hold fake certificates.
After Iranian-affiliated militias took control of areas west of the Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor, they established cultural centers and organized courses and seminars to teach and spread the Shiite doctrine among the population, especially children.
They also started introducing it into schools through teachers from the region who recently embraced the Shiite doctrine, targeting children in schools where governmental curricula are no longer taught in areas under the influence of the Iranian militias.
The weird curricula caught the attention of students’ parents, and many of them withdrew their children from these schools. Al-Najras quickly prevented his fourth-grade child from attending Qasiyun School after he started chanting sectarian and religious slogans.
The man preferred to educate his son at his own expense, with the help of a teacher from his relatives. “Most of the children in the neighborhood chant sectarian slogans they learned in schools, and they did not stop at chanting these slogans but they started wearing Shiite clothing and boasting about it”, al-Najras says.
In contrast to his actions, residents in areas under the control of Iranian militias were forced to leave the area out of fear for their children’s future, which they described as an unknown future and to escape security pursuits, as those who do not send their children to school are considered as opponents of the Shiite doctrine.
Zoubaa al-Nasser, an Arabic language teacher from Muhassan town in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, who works at Martyr Basil al-Assad School, said that Deir ez-Zor schools suffer from many problems that delay the teaching process and lead to its failure.
“Residents prevent their children from going to school due to the lack of specialized teaching staff, as well as racism and sectarianism displayed by some teachers affiliated with the Shiite doctrine, not to mention the poor service and hygiene “, al-Nasser told North Press.
He pointed out the deteriorating health situation in Deir ez-Zor schools due to neglect of hygiene . Cases of scabies and lice have been recorded among students due to the accumulation of dirt and waste at school entrances and playgrounds.
He believes that the practices of Iranian militias have led to the emigration of many teachers, in addition to the reluctance of some residents in the area to work for religious reasons.
The militias impose Shiite curricula on the culture of the region’s residents, without adhering to the curriculum of the government. Al-Nasser believes that this approach will have a catastrophic educational impact.
“Introducing the Shiite doctrine into government schools in Deir ez-Zor and the failure of the government to take a clear stance on this matter indicate the government’s weakness in the face of the Iranian project that is infiltrating to Deir ez-Zor”, local activists said.
Activists warn against the continued teaching of the Shiite doctrine for children, as it could lead to the creation of a sectarian mindset that will be a fundamental factor in obliterating the region’s identity in the future.
Ali al-Jasim, 57, a resident of the town of al-Mayadin in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, refuses to send his three children to the nearby school due to the Shiite ideas being promoted.
“Some teachers who embraced the Shiite doctrine asked him to change one of his children’s names and warned him about it due to a historical sectarian dispute over the name”, he told North Press.
Al-Jasim pointed out that schools in the areas west of the Euphrates have turned into Iranian cultural centers that implant a new religious ideology among the region’s population.