Feature: Syrian Aleppo students take schooling in shattered classrooms

Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-16 01:15:42|Editor: Mu Xuequan
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by Hummam Sheikh Ali

ALEPPO, Syria, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Once used by the rebels as bases, the schools in the city of Aleppo have now returned to its original function as a place of education for kids.

Xinhua reporters took a recent visit to the Ibrahim al-Tanbi school in the previously rebel-held Skahour neighborhood.

The school building has been torn to pieces, but students at various ages were studying at simple prefabricated classrooms set up by the government in the courtyard.

"We have been deprived of education because there were no schools. We had to work to help our families," Muhammad Hazzori, a 15-year-old student, told Xinhua.

Hazzori should be at the ninth grade considering his age, but he is now attending the seventh grade classes.

To compensate for the lost years, students were allowed to complete two educational years within one year.

"Now we are trying to make up for the years we lost. We have some educational weakness and lack teachers in some subjects. We wish Syria could rebuild again," Hazzori said.

However, the school was not so good for the boys as what it used to be before the war.

"Surely we prefer the old school before the war because the buildings were better and the view over the courtyard was good and the courtyard itself was much bigger than it is now... But in comparison with the situation we have been through, this is perfect," said Ali Zarqa, another student.

During the time when the school was controlled by the rebels, the students could not receive an appropriate education, for the curriculum focused on religious knowledge and teaching of weapon use.

Eleven-year-old Omar Na'san told Xinhua reporters that he had studied in one of the rebels' schools.

"When we were besieged in eastern Aleppo, the armed rebels set up schools. Most of the curriculum was to teach religion and to teach us how to join them," he said.

Na'san said the current school is much better than that of the rebels.

The current school in Aleppo is something that people from other war-torn regions pray to have.

At the principal's office, a man from Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State (IS), showed up with his kid, telling the principal that he had finally managed to enroll his kid in this makeshift school.

"We have fled Raqqa last year due to the war. We arrived in Aleppo for safety and to educate our children as the schools in Raqqa were closed," Abdul-Aziz Othman told Xinhua.

According to official statistics, there were 4,040 schools in Aleppo before the war with around 1.25 million students. Now only 950 schools remained and 450,000 students were still attending classes.

For the government, to find solutions to the education difficulty in Aleppo and to deal with the high dropout rate is a priority.

Samer Hallaq, associate director of education in Aleppo, said that most of the active schools in the city had sustained damages, noting that reconstruction should start in that area.

He told Xinhua that some schools had ten classrooms that could be used, while others were inaccessible as they were completely destroyed.

The official noted that using the courtyards of the destroyed schools as classrooms was a temporary solution to the problem.

"That's why we need maintenance and reconstruction to provide the basic facilities for education, such as desks and heaters," he said.

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