Exclusive interviews | Installments and high fees of means of transportation between Idlib and north Aleppo deepen University students’ sufferings
University students in Idlib city and countryside, who study in universities in northern Aleppo face many challenges, including the university’s installments, lack of affordable housing and difficulties when traveling between areas in Idlib and northern countryside of Aleppo due to the high fees of means of transportation.
In a testimony to SOHR, a 33-year-old man known by his initials as M.A. who has been displaced from the western countryside of Hama to A camp in Deir Hassasn in the northern countryside of Idlib talked about this dilemma: “I started studying in university two years ago. Now, I am studying in the “Free Aleppo University” in Azaz city. I travel a lot to be able to continue my studies in the university, as I have to travel to Azaz at least once a week, especially during exams. Now I am in the fourth year and I will graduate in a few months. I pay an installment of 150 USD a year as well as the very high fees of means of transportation. I search for residence in Azaz city until I finish my study, but I have to work to secure my, my wife’ and my children’s living, so I work at a motorcycle trade as well as my work on several websites on the internet. However, it is so difficult for me to reconcile the demands of work and education. The long distance between the area where I live and my university poses the major obstacle, as I face several challenges during traveling, including the high costs of transport and the factions’ checkpoints deployed along the road.”
H.S. who has been displaced from Maarrat Al-Nu’man city and lives now in Kafr Takhareem town in the north-western countryside of Idlib has shared his point of view with SOHR: “I preferred to continue my study in the “Free Aleppo University” in the northern countryside of Aleppo, as the certification granted by Idlib university is not internationally recognized, and to get a certification which could be recognized at least in Turkey. Now, I am in the second year of the faculty of arts. A large percentage, which exceeds 40%, of the students of Aleppo university are from Idlib countryside. Most of the students, particularly the displaced people, are struggling with the university’s yearly installments as well as the poor transportation services. Recently, Azaz University has allocated special residential units to accommodate female students from Idlib. However, this solution has not put an end to the students’ sufferings, as students are dispersed between education on one hand, and the unaffordable installments and costs of transportation and work on the other. Many students search for a tent or a house to live in, so that they can continue their education and spend no too much money to travel to their universities. There should be a university campus with an appropriate capacity to accommodate all students.”
Another female student in the faculty of arts, the “Free Aleppo University”, known as A.M. and she has been displaced from Sahl Al-Ghab in the western countryside of Hama to the outskirts of Idlib city has complained to SOHR about her frequent travel to northern Aleppo, as she has to go to her university several times a month. The young woman said “I dropped out university for two years, then I returned to continue my studies in the “Free Aleppo University”. I always go from Idlib city to Azaz city with my husband, but I am struggling to secure the costs needed for my education because of my husband’s dire living conditions, as we have been displaced for nearly two years. However, I get high marks in exams, which encourages me to complete my education. We hope there will be improvement in the university student services in general, particularly the students from areas outside the northern countryside of Aleppo.”
It is worth noting that the “Free Aleppo University” was established in early 2016. Now, the university hosts nearly 7,200 students in different affiliated faculties. The university recently signed a protocol of understanding with the Turkish university of “Mardin Artuklu”, one of the most prominent terms of which enables the students of the “Free Aleppo University” to continue university education in “Mardin Artuklu University”. It is also worth noting that hundreds of students in Idlib city and countryside study in the “Free Aleppo University”, especially since certifications granted by Idlib university, which is affiliated to the “Salvation Government” of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham, is not internationally recognized.