The new academic year started on 10 September in Northern and Eastern Syria. Some 800,000 students started classes. However, thousands of students were deprived of their education due to the damage and destruction caused in many schools by the ongoing attacks carried out by the Turkish state and its mercenaries in the region.

The villages of Til Temir, Zirgan, Ain Isa, Manbij, Shehba canton and the villages of Shera and Sherawa in the province of Afrin canton are bombed every day by the Turkish army and its mercenaries.

A total of 31,502 students were deprived of education due to the attacks. In addition, mercenary groups turned dozens of schools into military bases in the villages they occupied. Despite all this, the Autonomous Administration did not give up looking for alternatives so that students could continue their education.

Til Temir and Zirgan

According to the data provided by the Til Temir and Zirgan Education Committee, 4,738 out of 7,000 students in all three grades in Til Temir were registered for the new year, while 2, 262 students could not register due to the attacks. Since the start of the occupation of the villages of Til Temir and Zirgan, 1,460 out of 8, 700 students have registered, while 7, 242 have not been able to.

There are a total of 126 schools in Til Temir, but currently only 82 schools are working. 26 schools are under the control of the Turkish army and its mercenaries, while the other 15 schools are occupied by refugees from the city of Serêkanyê.

Til Temir School Administration allocated some houses for education so that students can continue receiving classes.

Gire Spî

Nearly 2,000 students in the villages of Girê Spî and Ain Isa, which are close to the war fronts, have been deprived of education for 5 years. Since the occupation of Girê Spî began in 2019, education has been stopped in 20 schools close to the war fronts in the western countryside of Girê Spî and the villages of Xalidiyê, Dibis, Koltep, Xirbe Beyda and Denayê in Ain Isa. These regions are constantly bombed.

Euphrates Region Education and Training Committee is working to continue education in schools in cooperation with the Gire Spî Canton Administration. It is trying to open new schools in the villages of Fatisa, Cedîdet Eyn Îsa, Kînana, Huriye, Bir Eli and Fatisa and the surrounding villages, where attacks are rare.

Regarding the schools close to the war fronts, Girê Spî School management spokesperson Cuman Isa told ANHA that the Turkish army and its mercenaries prevented the education process, and that families did not dare to send their children to school.

Isa pointed out that nearly 2,000 students have not been able to go to school for 5 years due to the attacks.

According to the data provided by the Euphrates Region Education and Training Committee, the number of students coming from Girê Spî Canton this year is around 9,000. Education is provided in 101 schools, and the number of teachers is 331.

Girê Spî School Administration opened a school in Grê Spî Refugee Camp and 1,500 students are currently receiving classes there.

Villages in Shehba, Shera and Sherawa

The Turkish army and its mercenaries continued their attacks with heavy and banned weapons against the villages of Shehba Canton and the Shera and Sherawa districts in the south of the occupied Afrin Canton. The villages of Bînê and Qeramil in Sherawa were targeted in the attack, which also affected schooling.

Afrin and Shehba Canton Education and Training Committee is trying to continue its educational activities despite limited resources. In this context, many schools were renovated and some houses were converted into education centers.

There are 23 schools housing more than 5,0000 students in villages close to war fronts.

According to Fadıl Çawiş, co-chair of the Education and Training Committee of Afrin and Shehba Canton, “there are no special places that can protect students during attacks due to the weak infrastructure of the region.”

Çawiş told ANHA that during the attacks, teachers sent students home, schools were closed, and as a result, students were deprived of education.

Education stopped in 70 schools in Manbij

With the start of the new academic year, Turkey-linked mercenaries increased their attacks on the villages of Manbij. The Education and Training Committees in Manbij and its countryside stopped education in schools in the bombed villages.

Manbij Education and Training Committee co-chair Ibrahim Al Taha told ANHA: “In order to protect the safety of students and teachers, education was stopped in schools in villages close to war fronts. Due to the incessant attacks by the Turkish state, education in 70 schools in the villages of Arap Hesen, Erima, Kawkili, Ilan, Mezeret El Seyada and Zenqel have been suspended.

Ibrahim Al Taha said that more than 20,000 students could not continue their education due to the suspension of education. The Education and Training Committee is looking for an alternative so that students can continue their education in schools far from the bombarded areas should the attacks not stop.