Lack of funds and donor organizations | Several schools in Sahl Al-Rouj in north-west Idlib threatened to be closed
Most of schools in north-western Idlib suffer from lack of many basic supplies, lack of teachers and interruption of financial support. Moreover, most of the teachers in these areas work voluntarily, while the schools which get support by donor organizations are no more than 30% of the schools of the towns and villages of Sahl Al-Rouj.
One example, among many, is the school in Al-Bal’a village whose staff have been working voluntarily for nearly four years. One of the school’s teachers has told SOHR that “the school suffers from lack of many basic needs, including desks, the rehabilitation of classes and bathrooms, and heating systems. Nearly 300 students from grade one to grade six study in the school, 100 of whom are displaced children. Moreover, many students have dropped out because of the school’s dire situation, as the school is not supported by any organization, which forced some teachers to continue working for no salaries, while the students need much stationary. The staff has frequently communicated with several bodies, including the ‘Salvation Government’ of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham and with a donor organization concerned with education, but all attempts were in vain. It is expected that some teachers will leave their job in the school because of their poor living conditions and the unstable situation in the region which makes it difficult to secure good education for the children.”
The director of another school in Sheikh Youssef village in north-western Idlib has shared his point of view with SOHR: “it is not logical that some schools receive good support by several organizations while others in the same area do not get any support. It is common knowledge that when there is complete interruption of support to education in Idlib, it covers all education academies. However, the villages of Sahl Al-Rouj area receive the lowest support directed to education. The lack of support to education has increased with the large displacement movement and the increasing number of students. All students have the right that their needs be secured, including heating systems, proper bathrooms, provision of drinking water, stationeries and education toys, so that students can continue studying in their schools. We see that most of the schools in the villages of Sahl Al-Rouj suffer from lack of services, and we do not know the reasons behind this problem.”
It is worth noting that the area of Sahl Al-Rouj in the north-western countryside of Idlib, which contains several villages like Al-Sheikh Youssef, Al-Ma’zoulah, Al-Bal’a, Maryameen, Kanesat Bani Izz, Al-Ghofar and others, has been the destination of many displaced families from several Syrian provinces which experienced military operations. While every village in Sahl Al-Rouj area hosts one school or more. Besides, there are some schools in the camps near these villages, which also suffer from lack of support and services.