Preface: More than 2,500 children from different age stages in the eastern country side of Daraa have been suffering from the risks of exploitation, poverty and recruitment in military operations and illiteracy due to the children denial of education and abandonment of their schools, which are no longer suitable for the teaching process for many reasons., according to a Syrians for Truth and Justice reporter in Daraa, who tried to shed light on the suffering of children and warn against neglecting their educational aspect after dozens of schools have been out of service.
There are many reasons why thousands of children have been deprived of education in the Lajat area, to name but a few, dozens of schools in the area were subjected to systematic targeting and shelling by Syrian government forces, in addition to the bad security situation, which led to failure of many teachers to do their duties either out of fear of arresting or taking them to compulsory and reserve service in Syrian government forces for male teachers. However, lack of interest on the part of local and international organizations and councils has contributed significantly to the deterioration of the educational state in the region, all that was based on numerous testimonies that STJ reporter listened from people in September 2017.
Image shows the destruction of an elementary school in the al-Jssri village in Lajat due to shelling by Syrian government forces on July 6, 2017, and this photograph was taken on 11 September 11, 2017.
Photo credit: STJ
Military and Political Context:
Militarily, Lajat area was under armed opposition factions control in 2011, as it was the first stronghold of opposition factions in the southern Syrian region. Anyway, group of factions, such as the Omari Brigade[1], Jaish Ahrar Al-Ash’ar[2], and Shabab Asuna[3] Forces, currently control the area. Lajat area subjected to many failed incursions by the Syrian forces, as they had always been targeted to artillery shelling and military aircraft, which caused considerable destruction to the infrastructure.
It is noteworthy that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, controlled several towns in Lajat as the towns of Hawsh[4] Hamad and Beir al-Qassab but the Syrian armed opposition factions succeeded in expelling them from those villages. Moreover, Lajat area was declared a completely free zone of ISIS in March 2017.
On the other hand, the Syrian government forces control the eastern and southern parts of Lajat, especially those located within the administrative borders of the as-Suwayda province.
Politically, the sponsored states countries of the Astana talks (Russia, Turkey and Iran) agreed on May 4, 2017 on a Memorandum of Understanding to establish de- escalation zones in Syria, which included Idlib province, some parts of northern Homs province, Eastern Ghouta in Damascus countryside and some parts the adjacent provinces (Latakia, Hama and Aleppo), as well as some parts of southern Syria, which didn’t precisely define. Moreover, on July 9, 2017, United States, Russia and Jordan declared starting a truce to cease fire in southwestern Syria, including Daraa, Quneitra and as-Suwayda, but till this moment, the cease-fire area has not been geographically defined and it is not known whether Lajat is within the framework of this agreement or not.
On August 23, 2017, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the commencement of operation of the joint monitoring centre for the southern de-escalation zone in Syria, and in Daraa and Quneitra, in accordance with the agreements reached in the framework of the negotiations between Russia, America and Jordan.
A map showing Lajat of Daraa and as-Suwayda, it also shows the military control of the various military factions in Lajat.
.jpg)
A map showing some villages of Lajat Area
Why many Schools Got out of Service in Lajat Area:
Mohammed al-Wadi, the Free Director of Education of Syrian Interim Government, spoke to STJ reporter about getting many schools out of service, as a result of shelling conducted by the Syrian government forces, as well as the inability to rehabilitate school due to the lack of support for them, Free Directorate of Education had established an educational complex in Lajat in Izraa and Lajat since many children in those areas had been deprived of education, concerning that he said:
"Most schools that got out of service need reconstruction, but the Directorate of Education capabilities are almost zero , we have no financial fund and most teaching cadres work voluntarily, we tried to pay due attention to Lajat and Basrelharir in eastern Daraa countryside as it teaching stopped for three years, we contacted concerned organizations working in the southern Syrian, as well as international organizations concerning this matter, especially after Ministry of Education of the Syrian regime abandoned supporting these areas , on the pretext of presence of what they called terrorist gangs. But until now we are still waiting for keeping of those promises, like providing us with a dedicated budget for printing new curriculum books that differ from the old curriculum of government of Syrian regime. In addition to offer salaries to the staff working voluntarily in some schools. Apart from the promise by the Ministry of Education of Syrian interim government regarding the rehabilitate and equip many schools prior to the school year, which began in September 2017. "
Muhammad al-Wadi explained that they had addressed numerous letters to organizations and bodies concerning education, including Auranitis and Olive Branch organizations, in order to prioritize Lajat area, as they offered some modest initiatives like opening two psychological support centers and some tents devoted to education, Muhamad noted, concerning support they had received, to a response on the part of an organization working[5] in northern Syria, and Damascus countryside. This organization oversees supporting education in these areas, under the name of Management Program, he explained that Daraa will join the program, and it will pay salaries to some teachers starting from January 2018, especially for those who are teaching in schools and tents located in Lajat and Basrelharir city.
In turn, al-Wadi emphasized that the number of children deprived of education in Lajat and Basrelharir close to 2,500; he also explained that the Free Director of Education is working on giving certification for preparatory and high school students and have been recognized by some States.
Volunteers Take upon Task of Educating Children:
Some youths in Lajat took upon the task of educating children, starting with gathering children from different ages, between 7 to 10 years, and then they place them within one or two classrooms at a school, and they are given lessons in basic subjects, such as mathematics and Arabic language, as STJ reporter assured. In this regard Yamin Shihab, a teacher in the village of Shayah located in the Lajat, said:
"Shayah village, is under the control of the armed opposition, contains an elementary and preparatory school, however, the number of students who have been receiving education was (250) children decreased to 134 children as result of the bad security situation, as 12 teachers of all subjects, voluntarily teach them, due to the fact that regime has completely ceased paying salaries to those teachers, not to mention the reluctance of many of them to go to the Directorate of Education of the regime in Daraa, either out fear of being taken them to compulsory service or arresting them on a regime's military checkpoints. Moreover, the situation is getting worse year by year as there is a high likelihood that education in the village will be halted over the next month because of the worsening living conditions for many teachers and students, as well as the inaction of some parents in sending their children to school, due to their poor material situation and the difficulty of securing stationery."
Image shows a volunteer teacher at Shayah Elementary School, located in the Lajat area, taken on September 14, 2017.
Photo credit: STJ
Yamin Shihab continued that the eastern sector of Lajat had become marginalized in all aspects, especially in education and service terms, explaining that the local council work is limited only to relief, due to the lack of financial support provided to it. Concerning education in Lajat he alluded that people are worried about spreading ignorance and illiteracy among their children, if Lajat remains neglected like this, it is sure that the fate will be dark and unknown, citing to what happened in some villages next to his village, such as the Shomarah, Sateh al-Qa’dan, western al- Shayah. He continued in the same regard:
Those villages people used to send their children to the al-Shayah village School, after their schools were out of service, due to shelling them by the regime's forces, those schools contained close to 50 students in previous years, but this year none of them will reach us, because of the distance and the rugged way, not to mention lack of education, and the difficult material situation that forced some residents to flee towards Daraa countryside searching for work. "
Organizations Working in Daraa Province and Criteria for Opening Educational Centers:
There are many organizations involved in psychological and educational support for children in Daraa province , perhaps the most important are Olive Branch and the Auranitis organizations, in addition to Association of Ahl Horan, but these organizations work is limited to providing psychological support to students and their scientific side, which means (tutoring courses) as an example, the Auranitis organization opened two psychological support and recreation centers in Jaddel and Sour in Lajat. Concerning efforts to support education in the area, the media activist Ahmed al-Zoubi spoke to STJ, he said:
"In Daraa and Quneitra provinces, there are many centers that supervise giving tutoring courses to students following the completion of their formal school day, as Auranitis has established this project since 2016, with approximately 250 teachers with nominal wages, supervised by 20 staff members from the organization. However, the organization has also opened another type of centre, which aims to mitigate the negative effects of war on children, and has recently opened two centers, which had already been mentioned in the villages of Jaddel and Sour in the area, and those centers were also likely to be supported by educational programs. "
According to Zoubi, the Auranitis organization is taking many criteria to open its centers, such as stabilizing the security situation that facilitate maintenance of the centre’s furniture from thieves and vandals, as well as being far from the whereabouts of Syrian government forces, in order to preserve the lives of students and teachers from detention, the last criterion, as he described, is the plan listed by the donor and funder of the project.
Statistics on out-of-Service Schools and their Impact on Children in Lajat Area:
Suspended schools, which the Syrian government has cut off support, are scattered throughout Lajat. On September 10, 2017, STJ reporter conducted, in cooperation with the media activist Abu Ma'an, a statistical study to determine how many schools are suspended in the area, showing that, 39 schools with all stages elementary, preparatory and secondary became out of service, they received hundreds of students in the past, in this regard, Abu Ma'an, an activist from Lajat assured to STJ saying:
"More than 2000 students have been deprived the right to learn as a result of government’s cutting support for these schools, as well as the inability of the Free Education Directorate of the opposition Syrian to reactivate it, which contributed to high prevalence of illiteracy among children, there are children over 15 years of age, and they do not know how to read or write, not to mention that many of them have joined Syrian military armed opposition factions, but there are some teachers who work voluntarily within their own country, in order to give the minimum basic information to those children, as well as some volunteers converted houses into educational centers containing children of different ages."
Images show a house transformed into a learning centre in the village of Eeb, located in Lajat, following the partial destruction of the village school as a result of shelling by Syrian government forces, taken on September 14, 2017.
Photo credit: STJ
Image shows a house after being transformed into a learning centre in Jamra village, located in Lajat, after the partial destruction of the village school, as a result of shelling by Syrian government forces, taken September 14, 2017.
Photo credit: STJ
Statistics of Suspended Destroyed School by the Syrian Government Forces in Lajat: