Aleppo: teachers strike over lack of fund, support

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Teachers of opposition-held Aleppo countryside continue to strike for the sixth day in a row, due to the lack of support for the education sector, some of them have not received a salary for the past 8 months.

Ali Abdel Karim, a teacher in Harem town, said that the strike includes 28 out of 32 schools in villages and towns in the northwest of Aleppo city, highlighting the difficulties experienced by teachers in these areas.

"The strike includes open protests for teachers and students in the schoolyards with slogans and banners appealing, “Don't let ignorance complete the war' started,” and others.”

Abdel-Karim confirmed that neither of the local nor international bodies have responded to the demands of the teachers participating in the strike.

In September, international organizations announced the suspension of financial support for education in northern Syria, in response to the dominance of the “Salvation Government” over a number of areas in rural Aleppo and the expulsion of the Syrian Interim Government. The Education Directorate of the Salvation Government, local governing body controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is seeking to end the strike, which might reveal its failure to manage education.

According to another teacher from Andan, the Directorate of Education is currently engaging in a policy of threats and blackmail against educational staff in the schools participating in the strike, in order to force them to resume their work.

The administration of western Samaan threatened school principals to dismiss all teachers involved in the strike and replace them with other teachers if they do not go back to work.

According to the source, since the beginning of the current academic year 2019-2020, the salaries of 3,500 teachers have been suspended by supporting organizations in 275 schools, which include about 90 thousand students.

Education in the liberated north continues facing a variety of obstacles, notably the limited number of teachers, relative to the number of students that increased significantly due to the displacement to the region, as well as the lack of financial resources and lack of support.

Zaman Al Wasl