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Renewed Protests by Teachers in Northern Syria Demanding Employment Stabilization and Owed Salaries
On Sunday, October 12, teachers in northern Syria continued their protests in front of the Directorate of Education in the Al-Jamiliya neighborhood of Aleppo, marking a new escalation of their longstanding demands. Dozens of teachers from towns and villages in the northern countryside gathered in what was the second protest during two months, organized by the Syrian Free Teachers Union in the region.
During the demonstration, the protesters reiterated their primary demands, emphasizing their right to job stabilization, urging the rapid disbursement of their owed salaries, demanding no delay in the stabilization procedures, and calling for the opening of special files for them. They also chanted slogans demanding the resignation of the Minister of Education and inquired about the fate of the promises made by the director of the Directorate, Anas Qassem, during a previous meeting with a committee formed by the teachers regarding employment stabilization, salary payments, and the external transfer of teachers to their home districts.
In response, the Deputy Director of Education, Mohammed Abdul Rahman, confirmed that efforts are underway to meet these demands, indicating that the file has reached advanced stages, with progress exceeding 90%, and that work is ongoing on issuing ID cards to the staff, according to local media pages.
In an interview with "Enab Baladi," a teacher who requested anonymity for personal reasons said that approximately 18,000 teachers in northern Syria are facing difficult living conditions due to the absence of salaries and official employment for nearly ten months, expressing frustration with the promises made by officials that remain unfulfilled.
Teacher Hassan Zino from the town of Ikhtreen mentioned that the teachers in the region “are the children of the revolution,” who sacrificed and exerted great efforts to ensure the continuation of the educational process despite challenges such as cold weather, shelling, and difficult circumstances. They refused to return to the Assad regime, but today they are facing frustration and violations, and are demanding their basic rights.
In an official statement, the Syrian Free Teachers Union in northern Syria called for organizing a protest in front of the Aleppo Directorate of Education, confirming that the teachers’ demands have not been translated into reality despite more than ten months since the region’s liberation.
In response, Anas Qassem, the Director of Education in Aleppo, issued a statement confirming that salary payments continue for all teachers in the educational complexes of northern Syria, and that efforts are ongoing to integrate the files of staff members within the Directorate of Education in Aleppo, along with studying requests for external transfers. He called on those involved in the educational process not to be swayed by rumors and to follow updates through the official pages of the Directorate of Education.
