“Children have right to attain education | Thousands of children in Al-Rukban camp robbed of their basic rights
Children in Al-Rukban camp study in mud-brick schools, amid lack of basic means of education.
The camp’s inhabitants have complained against the lack of the basic rights of their children in the 55 kilometre de-confliction zone at the Syria-Jordan-Iraq border triangle, which is known for its harsh environmental and climatic.
SOHR sources have reported the deteriorating educational situation in the camp, as well as the deterioration of all sectors and services.
Despite the tragic situation in Al-Rukban camp, the camp’s inhabitants have established mud-brick schools, according to their poor capabilities, so that their children can continue their education. Sadly, these schools lack basic standards of service. For example, these schools lack a heating system, while water leaks into classrooms in winters.
On the other hand, the families of students who want to go to those schools cannot afford the cost of stationary or new uniforms. Also, there are no curriculum provided in those schools, as education there is confined to teaching the students alphabets and reading only.
The difficulties of educations have negatively impacted the future of children living in the camp, especially with the growing dropouts in light of the dreadful living conditions of most of the camp’s families, where children chose to search for flammable material to be used for heating and cooking over education.
Furthermore, education sector in Al-Rukban camp suffer from the lack of teachers almost completely, as teachers are also struggling with dire living conditions which have forced them to work in other fields, so that they can secure their families and their essentials, especially since there are no monthly salaries allocated for those teachers. It is worth noting that most of the teachers in Al-Rukban camp do not have high qualification or appropriate degrees.
Since late 2018, the Syrian regime has imposed a stifling siege on Al-Rukban camp in an attempt to force the camp’s inhabitants to leave for regime-controlled areas. At the same time the Jordanian government continues the closure of crossings between Syria and Jordan.
Sadly, the international community and all organisations concerned with protecting human rights continue turning a blind eye to the tragedy and catastrophic situation in Al-Rukban camp whose inhabitants are struggling with the acute shortage of basic essentials, while the future of thousands of children remains uncertain.
SOHR activists have report the departure of families and individuals from the camp on a daily basis, heading to regime-controlled areas, without guarantees protecting them from oppression and arbitrary arrests. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) stresses the right of Syrian civilians in Al-Rukban camp to obtain food, drinking water and health and medical care, and calls for intensifying efforts to put an end to the sufferings of the camp’s inhabitants.