The Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) Youth Office in the town of Azaz in rural Aleppo held a workshop on the situation of education in the liberated areas. The workshop, which was held under the supervision of the SOC’s Vice-president and Coordinator of the Youth Office, Ruba Habboush, brought together academic educational institutions and student offices in universities.
The workshop discussed the situation of academic educational centers and universities, the major difficulties and challenges facing the education process, and practical solutions to overcome these obstacles.
Participants also discussed the reality of education in the liberated areas where up to 40 percent cannot pursue education as a result of the difficult living conditions. They also discussed the major obstacles and challenges facing the education process, including the inability to afford university fees, poor transportation, the inability of drop-outs from the regime’s universities to obtain legal papers, and the students’ fear of failure to obtain recognition of the certificated issued by universities in the liberated areas.
Participants, the majority of whom were students, put forth a set of recommendations that would facilitate the education process by securing scholarships and fees for students through organizations and donors. These also included improving transportation, equipping universities with laboratories and facilities for people with disabilities, the construction of a student dormitory, the establishment of a unified library for university publications, giving priority to the labor market for graduate students, and issuing a student card with special features that provide them with all the tools and paths in their educational journey. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
