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Lessons Removed and Images of Women and Artwork Obscured in Revisions to Syria’s School Curricula
Comparisons between older and newer editions of Syrian school textbooks have revealed changes including the removal of lessons and images, the addition of headscarves to images of female figures, and the removal or replacement of images of sculptures and works of art.
Syrian journalist Mohammad al-Salloum published comparisons of the editions. The fact-checking platform Ta’akkad said it reviewed the textbooks in question and checked the reported differences against digital and printed copies approved for the 2026–2027 school year.
According to the comparisons, the Ministry of Education reissued the sixth-grade *Social Studies* textbook, originally published for the 2012–2013 school year, after removing material related to the former regime, as well as lessons on local administration, political life, citizenship, media, and democratic participation.
The revisions also included obscuring images of women and children, adding headscarves to images of female figures, covering images of statues, and replacing works of art. Similar changes were documented in some early-grade textbooks and a seventh-grade textbook, including the removal of illustrations or changes to the clothing of female figures—such as adding a headscarf or a jilbab, a long, loose-fitting garment.
The comparisons also pointed to inconsistencies in how some changes were applied. A female doctor was shown wearing a headscarf on one page of a first-grade textbook, while the same character appeared without one on another page.
On 17 August 2026, Syria’s Ministry of Education announced that a unified curriculum would be used across the governorates for the 2026–2027 school year, based on the previous year’s curriculum, known as the “Damascus Curriculum.” The ministry said it had completed the national standards for new curricula as a preliminary step toward writing them.
During a hearing before the People’s Assembly on 14 September 2026, Education Minister Mohammad Abdul Rahman Turko said the ministry had removed images and symbols associated with the former regime from the two latest editions of the textbooks. He also said a two-year transition period had been established for students who had studied under previous curricula. The ministry printed 41 million schoolbooks during the year, compared with 28 million the previous year.
