Protest in Sweida calls for students’ right to education to be guaranteed

Al-Karama Square in the city of Sweida witnessed a protest today attended by dozens of people, calling for the right to education to be guaranteed and objecting to the Ministry of Education’s decision concerning the 2026 examination cycle, which requires ninth-grade students to repeat an academic year. They also called for solutions for students affected by the circumstances the region has experienced in recent months.

Mathematics teacher Hazem al-Hanawi said that the decision to place ninth-grade students from the 2026 examination cycle back into basic education classes and make them repeat an academic year, as he described it, is unfair and unjust. He noted that the exceptional circumstances experienced by the governorate require measures to ensure that students can continue their education without losing an academic year.

He explained that not allowing students to advance could delay their educational progress, particularly given the lack of subsequent grades capable of accommodating them in some areas, which could affect their educational future.

Participants called for solutions that would ensure students can continue their education and for safe examination centers to be provided close to their places of residence, taking into consideration the security, humanitarian, and psychological circumstances they have experienced.

For his part, student Ward Abu Ras said that the circumstances in the region had prevented him from continuing his education. He pointed to the difficulty of reaching examination centers in Damascus during the previous examination cycle and called for examination centers to be provided within their local areas.

Student Jana al-Hanawi also criticized the nature of the curricula and the way they are delivered, calling for consideration of the educational and psychological circumstances students are experiencing.

Participants held banners calling for educational rights to be guaranteed, affirming that they would continue documenting what they consider to be unfair decisions against students and demanding solutions that would enable them to complete their educational journey.

ANHA