The education sector in Darayya, a city in the Damascus countryside in southern Syria, has faced mounting pressures since early 2025, as teachers’ salaries continue to lag behind the rising cost of living. According to testimonies from teachers and parents who spoke to Enab Baladi, the gap is affecting staff stability and school performance.
Although school life has gradually returned to the city after years of decline, the ongoing economic crisis and the erosion of purchasing power have revived a key question: how can the quality of education be maintained when income no longer covers basic living expenses?
Teachers between the classroom and second jobs
Teachers in Darayya told Enab Baladi that their current salaries are no longer sufficient to meet essential needs, including rent, utility bills, transportation, and food. As a result, many have sought additional work after school hours.
Alaa al-Din Bourmeh, an Arabic language teacher, said that the educational process “requires financial support as a central pillar,” noting that he works two jobs every day.
He explained that he leaves school directly for his second job, leaving limited time to prepare lessons or properly follow up with students.
Fayez, a school administrator and mathematics teacher, said that low salaries directly affect the quality of education. A teacher preoccupied with securing basic living necessities struggles to develop teaching tools or keep pace with updated curricula, which is reflected in classroom performance.
Physics teacher Jamal Habib linked financial stability to the classroom environment, arguing that psychological stress resulting from financial burdens affects the atmosphere of lessons and limits teachers’ ability to engage positively with students.
Female teachers face similar conditions, and in some cases additional burdens due to balancing educational work with other responsibilities.
Hanaa, who teaches at both the preparatory and secondary levels, said her current salary “does not allow full dedication to teaching,” confirming that she also works an additional daily job.
She added that she has considered leaving the profession more than once but ultimately refrains, because “the current generation needs support more than ever.”
Hanaa also highlighted other challenges within schools, including low motivation among some students, shortages of updated textbooks, cold classrooms during winter, administrative workload, and increasing bureaucratic requirements.
Amal, who has worked in education since 2005, said her salary “barely covers a few days each month,” pushing her to rely on private tutoring to make up the shortfall.
She warned that delays in paying the salaries of some non-tenured substitute teachers for months, combined with staff shortages, could worsen the crisis in the coming periods.
Professional burnout and reduced preparation
Teachers say that exhaustion caused by additional work reduces the time available for lesson preparation and for following up on individual cases, particularly students who need extra support.
This could lead to a gradual decline in academic achievement, especially in public schools that accommodate the largest number of students, amid limited resources compared to private schools or educational institutes.
The growing reliance on private tutoring, whether by teachers seeking to supplement their income or by families compensating for gaps in explanation, also deepens the divide between financially capable households and those with limited income. This raises further concerns about equal access to education.
Parents voice concern, offer praise
Parents’ views on the state of education in Darayya vary depending on schools and their administrations.
Mazhar Abu al-Hawa, the father of a student, said the current situation is “better than before.” However, he enrolled his son in a private institute after he failed in a public school last year, in an attempt to compensate for learning loss.
In contrast, Rahaf, the mother of another student, criticized what she described as “frequent teacher changes and weak instruction.” She said her son was subjected to corporal punishment and that her complaint received no response.
Fatima, meanwhile, praised her children’s school administration, saying that the daily monitoring and discipline of the teaching staff positively reflect on students’ performance, indicating disparities between schools within the same city.
Promises of salary increases
On the official level, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yosr Bernieh said the government is moving toward raising salaries in the education and health sectors as part of a wage reform plan, without specifying a clear timeline for implementation.
These statements coincide with protests and strikes witnessed in several Syrian regions, particularly in northern Syria, demanding the payment of delayed salaries or improvements to teachers’ living conditions, reflecting the nationwide scope of the challenges.
However, the absence of a clear timeline leaves teachers in a state of uncertainty and instability, at a time when living pressures continue to rise and inflation further erodes the real value of wages.
Enab Baladi attempted several times to obtain comments from the Darayya Educational Complex, responsible for appointing teachers in the city’s schools, but its director declined to provide information without special authorization from the Directorate of Education.
Darayya’s education crisis is not limited to salaries. It is also linked to the accumulated effects of years of war and displacement, weak funding, and deteriorating infrastructure in many of the city’s schools.
Rising transportation and stationery costs, along with difficulties in providing an adequate classroom environment in some school buildings, add to the intertwined challenges facing the educational process, beyond the issue of wages alone.
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