AANES considers building, renovating schools in Syria’s Manbij
MANBIJ, Syria (North Press) – On Thursday, an official in Education Committee in the city of Manbij, northern Syria, said the committee had established a new school, and it is considering the renovation of schools destroyed during battles that took place in the area.
During battles that were waged to expel the Islamic State (ISIS) from Manbij, several schools were damaged partially or completely, affecting the ability to receive all students of the area.
Pirgin Sheikh Muhammad, deputy co-chair of Manbij Education Committee of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), said constructing schools is a priority for the committee’s work this year.
If construction works in al-Biram School are finished, it will be ready for receiving students by next academic year, Sheikh Muhammad noted.
She told North Press that the committee will start first with renovating the completely destroyed schools like al-Ghassaniya, Ali Bin Abi Talib, Omar Abu Risha, and Abduljalil al-Hassan.
Displacement waves caused overpopulation in Manbij, thus the number of students also has increased.
The Education Committee, according to the available capability and budget, tries to relieve congestion in classrooms through renovating the destroyed schools, she noted.
Manbij, east of Aleppo, is one of the most important industrial centers in northern Syria, as it is a transportation hub and sits on a commercial road linking the AANES-held areas with those of the Syrian government, in addition to opposition-held areas in northern Syria.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) supported by the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS liberated Manbij from ISIS in 2016 following fierce battles.
Following its liberation from ISIS, the Arabs, Kurds, Circassians and Turkmen, who constitute the fabric of Manbij, established their own administration under the name of Democratic Civil Administration of Manbij and its Countryside to run the affairs of their region. Then, this administration joined the AANES.
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.