Kafr Takharim and Armanaz schools… Support stopped and the teaching suspended, the fate of thousands of students is unknown
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights – Idlib province: the education sector in the towns of Armanaz and Kafr Takharim in the northern countryside of Idlib is witnessing a significant deterioration after the support of the educational aspect in the Syrian north was interrupted, and as a result, many schools and educational centers in both towns were closed, tens of teachers stopped teaching because they did not receive their monthly salaries, a large proportion of primary education students stopped going to school their year, a teacher at Ibrahim Hanano School in Kafr Takharim town in the northern countryside of Idlib told the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that: “the Syrian regime’s allies have left no method without using it to fight the Syrian people in these areas under the pretext of the presence of terrorist groups, without distinguishing between civilian and fighter, the daily life and living requirements must be kept away of the armed conflict,” and he added: “because the support stopped, many schools in Kafr Takharim town closed, and tens of teachers also stopped teaching because their salaries were suspended which affected hundreds of students, Ibrahim Hanano School is one of these schools in which the teaching has stopped after its support was suspended, the school had about 550 primary education students, and it’s not just the students who were affected by this stop of support, teachers have lost their jobs and their sources of income.”
In his testimony to the Syrian Observatory, the source called on the supporting organizations and concerned parties, such as the Ministry of Education, to “work to secure the necessary support in order for the educational process in Kafr Takharim and other towns and villages to continue, so we ensure that our students continue to receive education in this academic year and that their educational future is not lost, now, 9 schools in Kafr Takharim have stopped teaching and if the support continues to be suspended we expect that the schools will stop in several nearby villages and towns, we also call on the support organizations and the western countries to take our situation into consideration, and to keep civilian life with all its requirements away of the military changes on the ground, especially the education sector, which is the building block of society.”
Also, a displaced person from Jabal Shashabo area in the western countryside of Hama, who currently lives in Kafr Takharim town in the northern countryside of Idlib, spoke in his testimony to the Syrian Observatory about the suspending the education for his 4 children, because of the stop of teaching in Kafr Takharim town he said: “I have displaced with my family since the beginning of April 2019, I have 4 children in the age of school, and the teaching of all of them has stopped after the support of the town’s schools has stopped, my children are in primary education level, in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th grades, they lost their study and school year after the support stopped, where the schools informed them that they suspended teaching, and now we can do nothing but wait until the support and education are resumed in Kafr Takharim town, or I will think about getting out of town and moving to another town, education in the Syrian north should not be considered as one of the basics of the Syrian war, the support for the education sector in the Syrian north must be reactivated, so that thousands of students can continue their education.”
A science teacher at the high school in Armanaz town in the northern countryside of Idlib talked in his testimony to the Syrian Observatory about the poor educational situation in the town, he said: “50% of the town’s schools have been suspended after the stop of support, several organizations -including Syria Relief- have stopped supporting many schools in the town, and due to which thousands of students have been affected and threatened with suspension of their current school year if support is not returned, many teachers in the town have also stopped, we have appealed to many organizations concerned in supporting the educational aspect in the Syrian north, but they did not provide the slightest of help.”
The source concluded his testimony by saying: “it is not logical that supporting the educational facilities or any other aspect involving civilians; should be stopped because of the political situation or even the change of forces controlling the ground, we call for the immediate reactivation of the role of the organizations supporting the education sector in the Syrian north, so that we can continue to provide the educational process to our students.”