(Zaman Al Wasl) The Islamic State's policy in recruiting children and turning schools into shelters for the displaced has contributed to the suspension of the educational process in Deir Ez Zor province, making more than 300,000 children out of school for almost three years.
Khaled al-Jasim, teacher, said that 5,000 children in his town of al-Shihal, a total population of 35000, face the danger of illiteracy. He explained that the town has 22 elementary and secondary schools, all of which went out of service due to the regime forces’ intensive bombing at the beginning of the Syrian revolution. He added that some schools later became military headquarters for factions or shelters for the displaced coming to the town fleeing the fighting.
Al-Jasim stressed that children’s absence from education facilitated them joining military factions controlling the area at the time in the absence of awareness and guidance.
According to al-Jassim, there have been several individual attempts to equip some schools recently, but these initiatives did not receive the appropriate support to succeed, so every child born in 2006 or any year after is in danger of being illiterate. Children born in these years in parts of Deir Ez Zor that were under, or still under, Islamic State control have not received an even partial education. Al-Jassim referred to areas that are still under Islamic State control in the far east of Deir Ez Zor in particular.
In a related context, regime media outlets quoted Khalil al-Haj Obeid, the head of the Education Directorate in Deir Ez Zor saying that 56 schools have been opened to accommodate 16409 students, after activating the educational complex in al-Tibni village. The education complex hosts 35 schools that accommodate 9159 students in the western countryside (al-Shamiyet) of Deir Ez Zor. Also 12 schools were opened in the villages of Hattila and al-Husseiniya in the al-Jazira region which have absorbed 4450 so far. Seven schools were opened in the villages of Marat and Mazlum which absorbed 2300 students, a school in Bqaras village which absorbed 200 students and schools in the village of al-Swaatiet which absorbed 300 students.
The Russian Sputnik news agency published images supposedly from a school for girls in Deir Ez Zor teaching the students the Russian language after lifting the Islamic State forces’ siege on the city in October 2017.
According to official figures, the number of schools in the first and second cycles of basic education in 2014-2015 reached 964 schools distributed in Deir Ez Zor. Of those schools, 30 were distributed in the city of Deir Ez Zor and the remaining schools are distributed in educational and administrative complexes in the countryside. The total number of students was around 307207 students while there were 115 secondary schools frequented by around 21,954 students.
Zaman Al Wasl
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