Published : 11-09-2019
Displaced Palestinian refugees seeking shelter in northern Syria have welcomed their new school year amidst many difficulties that continue to negatively affect the teaching/learning process.
Schools and educational premises, including private academic institutions, exist in most of the areas where Palestinians have sought refuge. However, the waves of forced deportation and mass displacement have led to overcrowding in those schools. As many as 70 students are often crammed in a single classroom, resulting in a poor academic output. The acute shortage in school furniture along with the families’ inability to shell out education fees have made the situation far worse. A students is expected to pay as much as 15 thousand SYP with the start of the scholastic year.
Parents continue, meanwhile, to rummage around for better services in neighboring towns so as to make up for their children’s low-level input in the poverty-stricken region. In such cases, the experience is often marred by the steep transportation costs, which hit up to 7,000 Syrian pounds per student, a sum that far outlives the family’s ability to shell it out. Other Palestinian families refuse to send their children, especially girls, to distant schools owing to the security mayhem rocking the region.
The situation is far worse in the refugee camps of Deir Ballout in Jenderes and AlBal near A'zaz. Schools established in the area are made up of poorly equipped tents that are not fit to study in and risk to fall into pieces in the winter season. Neither professional training staff nor proper furniture are available at the school. Students often find no other choice than to sit on the floor in order to attend lectures and jot down notes.
Educational premises in northern Syria fall under the direct supervision of Turkish or Syrian institutions and NGOs. In Idlib, those schools are run by the Syrian Salvation Government, which is a de facto alternative government of the Syrian Opposition, seated within Idlib Governorate.
The number of Palestinian students in northern Syria is estimated at 3,000, while the number of teachers does not exceed 30, most of whom are females.
Displaced Palestinian refugees seeking shelter in northern Syria have welcomed their new school year amidst many difficulties that continue to negatively affect the teaching/learning process.
Schools and educational premises, including private academic institutions, exist in most of the areas where Palestinians have sought refuge. However, the waves of forced deportation and mass displacement have led to overcrowding in those schools. As many as 70 students are often crammed in a single classroom, resulting in a poor academic output. The acute shortage in school furniture along with the families’ inability to shell out education fees have made the situation far worse. A students is expected to pay as much as 15 thousand SYP with the start of the scholastic year.
Parents continue, meanwhile, to rummage around for better services in neighboring towns so as to make up for their children’s low-level input in the poverty-stricken region. In such cases, the experience is often marred by the steep transportation costs, which hit up to 7,000 Syrian pounds per student, a sum that far outlives the family’s ability to shell it out. Other Palestinian families refuse to send their children, especially girls, to distant schools owing to the security mayhem rocking the region.
The situation is far worse in the refugee camps of Deir Ballout in Jenderes and AlBal near A'zaz. Schools established in the area are made up of poorly equipped tents that are not fit to study in and risk to fall into pieces in the winter season. Neither professional training staff nor proper furniture are available at the school. Students often find no other choice than to sit on the floor in order to attend lectures and jot down notes.
Educational premises in northern Syria fall under the direct supervision of Turkish or Syrian institutions and NGOs. In Idlib, those schools are run by the Syrian Salvation Government, which is a de facto alternative government of the Syrian Opposition, seated within Idlib Governorate.
The number of Palestinian students in northern Syria is estimated at 3,000, while the number of teachers does not exceed 30, most of whom are females.
