Over 5.2 million students begin their new academic year

More than 5.2 million students across various Syrian governorates returned to their schools yesterday, marking the start of the new academic year 2026-2027, following the completion of administrative and educational preparations to welcome students and establish a suitable school environment for the commencement of the educational process.

Prior to the launch of the new academic year, Minister of Education and Higher Education Mohammad Abdul Rahman Tarako held a meeting with education directors in the governorates in Idlib province to discuss the state of educational work, as well as the challenges and difficulties facing it.

Earlier, on August 11, the Syrian Ministry of Education issued a school readiness plan in preparation for the new academic year. The plan included completing maintenance and equipping works, ensuring the safety of buildings, facilities, and educational equipment, securing drinking water and heating means, and enhancing cleaning and general safety efforts.

SANA news agency quoted a source in the Syrian Ministry of Education as confirming the reopening of 2,350 schools in eastern areas, noting varying levels of readiness among governorates. In Raqqa, 1,137 schools were prepared out of approximately 1,439 ready for the academic year, while around 300 schools require maintenance.

In Daraa, in implementation of the "Abshir Hawran" campaign, approximately 200 schools were renovated and maintained, including seven new schools that entered service at the beginning of the academic year.

In Aleppo, 134 schools were renovated and repaired, making them ready to welcome more than 65,000 students, while approximately 1,950 schools still require renovation to varying degrees.

In Idlib, 650 schools were rehabilitated and reopened since December 8, 2024. The Ministry of Education is working to secure textbooks for students, either by operating printing presses at maximum capacity—particularly given the rising number of students returning to Syria, which official statistics indicate has exceeded 500,000—or by recycling old books and reusing them for education.

In a related development, the Syrian Ministry of Education adopted the Damascus curriculum for the 2025-2026 academic year to be implemented during the 2026-2027 academic year across all Syrian governorates. The ministry confirmed that the approved curricula are available on its new official website.

The ministry also established national standards for the new curricula. Previously, Syrian curricula were divided into three regions: the "Damascus curriculum," taught in areas under the control of the former regime; the "Idlib curriculum," also known as the "Liberated Areas curriculum," taught in northwestern Syria; and the "Northeast Syria curriculum," taught in areas previously administered by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).