President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition sent a letter to the UNICEF’s Executive Director Henrietta Fore regarding the reality of the Syrian teachers working in Turkish schools.
The move came following a meeting between SOC’s President and representatives of the Syrian Teachers Forum in Turkey who outlined their main demands to be presented through the SOC to the UNICEF.
Al-Hariri pointed to the need for the UN children agency to provide the necessary support to Syrian teachers in Turkey and to address the problems facing them. He called for the formation of a committee of Syrian teachers in order to be a partner of UNICEF and the Turkish Ministry of Education in discussing the decisions related to teachers and Syrian students in Turkey.
Al-Hariri stressed the importance of cooperation between UNICEF and the Turkish government in order to allocate centers to teach Syrian students the Arabic language, indicating that this would preserve the mother tongue and identity of more than 600,000 Syrian students in Turkey. This would also ensure that they will be able complete their studies in the event they return to Syria.
Al-Hariri thanked the international organization for its efforts to protect children around the world and defend their rights, calling for more attention to be given to Syrian children, especially in IDP camps and the liberated areas.
The Forum of Syrian Teachers in Turkey comprises 13,000 teachers and 65,000 holders of university degrees.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
