The Directorate of Education of the opposiiton Interim Government in Damascus suburbs is trying to find effective solutions to the negative effects of school-aged children dropouts which has spread widely throughout the Eastern Ghouta.
The director of education in the countryside of Damascus Adnan Slick said in an exclusive statement to Zaman al-Wasl that the Directorate has organized regular courses within the project rapid education for early learning students in order to accommodate children dropouts and those who has not been going to school for a long time. The course length ranges between one to two years - mostly due the circumstances of the war in the country.
Eastern Ghouta, the only major rebel-held area near the capital, has been blockaded by Syrian government forces since 2013. It has shrunk considerably in size over the past year as the Russia-backed Syrian army has taken control of other rebel-held areas around Damascus.
The student is usually given an intensive curriculum for about three and a half months where students are sorted after their level of education is determined in different grades, and they move from class to class, but provided that each student passes the regular tests for each stage, Adnan added.
The segments that benefit from Rapid Education are the students of the basic education stage from the first to the sixth grade. The project also includes most sectors of the Eastern Ghouta, taking into account the distribution of the number of students and the needs of each region, especially since the classroom in which the training is held must be not less than ten students .
According to Slick, rapid education focuses on giving students three basic subjects: Arabic, Mathematics and English, while the number of hours allocated to Rapid Education students exceeds those allocated to regular education in order for the students to catch up.
He indicated that the the first course of Rapid Education began last summer, the second in the first semester and the third in the second semester of the year. The fourth cycle is currently underway which will enable the student to catch up with his or her peers in the winter education system once it is completed.
In addition, the repeated shelling of the towns and villages of Eastern Ghouta, including the frequent targeting of schools and educational centers in various types of weapons, the deteriorating economic conditions and the continued displacement of most families in the region led to nearly 4000 school-aged children dropouts.
Despite the great difficulties faced by the Directorate of Education in the lack of school facilities and printed curricula as well as the lack of support in East Ghouta for more than five years, but they hope that the project will significantly impact the lives of children forced by various war conditions to leave school and they will via the program be able to master the skills of reading and writing.
The Directorate of Education relies on the support provided by some international humanitarian organizations in order to secure its needs and implement its various educational and recreational projects, particularly Rapid Education and summer clubs. It also develops the administrative system by conducting several training courses and lectures aimed at teachers, staff and management.
