More than 4.3m students begin new school year in Syria

Students in Syria began the new school year on Sunday September 14th, the date set by the government after finishing all necessary preparations to ensure that the educational process proceeds smoothly despite the circumstances and the challenges caused by terrorism.
In a statement to SANA, Education Minister Hazwan al-Waz asserted that the education sector in Syria will uphold its obligations and confront the challenges facing all Syrians, affirming that the sector will keep moving forces and remain undaunted in the face of obscurantist and subversive mentalities.
He said that the preparations for the new school years included implementing the full plan of the General Establishment for Printing which involves printing the needed textbooks which are estimated at around 50-80 million and distributing them across provinces, noting that all highschool textbooks have been distributed already and the rest of the books are currently being delivered.
Al-Waz noted that terrorists have attacked trucks transporting books, but the Ministry found ways to ensure the delivery of the books, adding that there’s a surplus of used books available for students.
The Minister said that number of students who registered for this school year disprove the malicious rumors circulated by mass media on the state of the educational sector in Syria, as the number of registered students is around 4,373,522 students from the first grade up to the 12th grade in addition to kindergarten students, with around 107,374 children having been registered in kindergartens.
Due to the fact that many schools and related infrastructure facilities have been damaged due to terrorist attacks, the Ministry doubled its efforts to put as many schools as possible into service, preparing around 17,700 schools and kindergartens.
Out of concern over the financial burdens that parents are facing, the Minister said that instructions have been given to forego strictness in enforcing school uniforms.