Dismissed Hasakah teachers protest, demand reinstatement

A number of dismissed teachers in Hasakah held a protest on Wednesday in front of the Education Directorate, demanding reinstatement and resolution of their employment status, following the decision to merge the education directorates in the governorates of Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor, and Raqqa.

The protesters held banners calling for justice and fairness, including: “Where are the selection criteria?”, “No to injustice,” and “Why the marginalization? Where is justice?”

Participants said teachers in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa had returned to their jobs, while more than 500 teachers in Hasakah, distributed across 17 educational complexes, remain dismissed, with no clear solutions regarding their employment status.

According to the protesters, the number of teachers dismissed in Hasakah does not exceed 600, contrary to circulating figures that put the number in the thousands. They said most of those dismissed hold academic qualifications and have around eight years of teaching experience, while some cases of work stoppage were linked to health and humanitarian circumstances.

Teacher Mohamed al-Hesso said the protesters are calling for their reinstatement in the education sector, adding that the requests they submitted have received no response so far, except in a limited number of cases, with some teachers contacted outside official working hours.

He added that one of the main demands is the reinstatement of teachers who have spent years working in education. However, approval of return requests has so far been limited to a limited number of teachers, without clarification of the selection process or the criteria used.

For his part, teacher Hassen al-Ahmed said the directorate had informed them that there were “secret criteria” for selecting teachers to be reinstated in their positions.

He questioned the criteria used, particularly given that some secondary school certificate holders had been accepted while applications from university degree holders were rejected.

The protesters called for clarification of the criteria for reinstatement, the adoption of a clear and fair mechanism covering all dismissed teachers, and an end to the uncertainty surrounding their employment status.

ANHA