Schools’ reopening in Syria’s Aleppo depends on buildings’ safety
ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – Education process will not resume unless all schools across Syria in the areas affected by the earthquakes that struck Syria and Turkey on Feb. 6 are checked, an exclusive source in the Directorate of Education in Aleppo Governorate said on Monday.
The source told North Press that the directorate formed an operations room to supervise the engineers committees assigned to check all public and private schools in Aleppo.
At dawn on Feb. 6, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Syria and Turkey, killing thousands and injuring many more. The earthquake also caused immense destruction of buildings, trapping thousands under the rubble.
The operations room is also responsible for following up on and supervising schools that have become shelters for those affected by the earthquake, and it is also assigned to put a comprehensive plan to gradually resume the safe education process in schools, according to the source.
On Sunday, school days resumed at kindergartens, public, vocational, and religious schools in all areas held by the Syrian government except for Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Idlib that the government declared “disaster zone.”
Initial checks, the source in the Education Directorate said, revealed that 14 schools within the eastern neighborhoods in the governorate sustained structural damages.
The source added that education facilities that were turned to shelters have been checked by the public safety engineers affiliated with the education directorate, noting that “these schools are the safe place for residents to stay in now.”
Private schools and institutes will resume after obtaining reports on safety of buildings’ construction, according to the source.
School days in schools that were not affected by the earthquake in the southern and western parts of the city, the source said, will start within days.