More than a month into the school year, many public schools in the city of Homs, central Syria, are suffering from a shortage of administrative staff, as the Education Directorate refrains from sending the required personnel despite repeated requests from school principals.
Amid this shortage of administrative staff within schools, many university graduates are reluctant to apply for government jobs due to low monthly salaries, or because they are required to perform mandatory or reserve military service, which has become a nightmare for young people in Syria.
Inadequate coverage
An administrator at a boys’ preparatory school in northern Homs stated that the school serves over 1,000 students split into two shifts: the morning shift starts at 8 AM and ends at 12 PM, while the afternoon shift starts at 12 PM and ends at 4 PM.
He mentioned that the only administrative staff present during the morning shift are the principal and two supervisors, and the same holds true for the afternoon shift. The principal alternates between both shifts to ensure a minimal level of organization, stating that the school needs an average of 12 administrators to function properly, and 20 to be classified as good.
The shortage of administrative staff has created numerous problems, including intense pressure on the existing administrators, and a setting of chaos, absenteeism, and lack of discipline among students, leading many parents to transfer their children to other schools or to refrain from sending them at all, urging them to seek vocational training instead.
Teacher Joumana at the same school noted that the lack of administrators puts immense pressure on teachers with a lack of ability to control the disorder, especially since the students in their teenage years grew up in an unstable environment due to the prolonged conflict and the long interruptions from school.
She added that the poverty-stricken families, who are preoccupied with ensuring daily sustenance, fail to pay sufficient attention to their children, compounded by rising incidents of kidnapping, theft, and the proliferation of arms, all of which make it difficult to deal with children, further emphasizing the need for a complete administrative team to help manage students during official school hours.
Huda, a primary school teacher who has been teaching since 2012, mentioned that the principal of her school was transferred about two weeks ago, and no replacement has been sent until today.
The school includes five administrative staff: a psychological counselor, a health supervisor, a secretary, an assistant to the principal, and a supervisor. If any of the administrators are absent, their colleague temporarily fills in for them.
The administrations of both the preparatory and primary schools contacted the Education Directorate in the province, which promised to provide the necessary staff but to no avail.
Teacher Hanan left her job teaching first-grade students at a school in rural Homs due to the difficulty of managing students, with classes containing over 50 pupils and some classes reaching 60, although ideally, class sizes should not exceed 30 students.
She noted that the school only had the principal and his assistant on the administrative staff. She added that most teachers work in a “temporary” capacity instead of having permanent positions, depriving them, first of all, of salaries during academic interruptions, and they receive no form of health insurance or other benefits.
Pressure and chaos
The administrator at the preparatory school in rural Homs stated that every school should include a principal, an assistant principal, a secretary, a psychological counselor, a health supervisor, and a number of supervisors commensurate with the number of students in the school.
He indicated that the lack of sufficient administrative staff leads to a significant burden on the existing administrators, adding that the shortage has forced him to oversee teacher attendance, organize student files, distribute books, monitor student attendance, and supervise them in the yard during breaks, all with the help of just two administrators.
This situation has resulted in considerable chaos, with students arriving late, some not attending at all, and when they wish to leave, they can go at any time they choose.
Moreover, arguments and disputes are common, especially during break times, and the phenomenon of smoking among students has increased due to inadequate supervision, leading to a decline in the quality of education.
Low salaries
Teachers and administrators complain about low salaries, with a maximum wage of 500,000 Syrian pounds, which does not amount to 10% of the minimum level of living according to the World Food Programme (WFP), which is 2.75 million Syrian pounds (about $188 USD).
This figure (2.75 million Syrian pounds) may only cover a family’s food needs and does not take into account other family necessities like clothing, heating, rent, and bills. According to local sources, a family requires at least five million Syrian pounds monthly to meet the needs of a six-member family.
Additionally, Homs province schools face a shortage in the number of schools relative to the number of students, with approximately 80% of schools destroyed by 2018.
Many schools still serve as barracks for regime forces, security agencies, and supporting forces, used as monitoring points and storing large quantities of weapons, often located within densely populated residential neighborhoods.
Attempts that fall short of demand
To increase opportunities for comprehensive and safe education for children in Syria, UNICEF is supporting the rehabilitation of damaged schools throughout the country.
From January to June 2024, with support from the Government of Japan, UNICEF rehabilitated two heavily damaged schools, namely the Sultaniya elementary school in Homs and the Soran secondary school for girls in rural Hama, set to reopen for the 2024-2025 school year after having ceased operations since 2011 due to the war.
On October 8 of this year, the Central Council of the Teachers’ Syndicate in Syria approved several resolutions, including:
- Increasing contributions towards surgeries, devices, and prosthetics, as well as hospitalization.
- Raising contributions towards medical analyses and radiological treatments.
- Increasing the prescription ceiling.
- Offering the opportunity to reinstate membership in the immediate assistance fund upon death.
- Addressing shortcomings in the social solidarity fund.
3.7 million students
The current academic year began on September 8, creating concerns for parents trying to manage the costs of school supplies and clothing amid a deteriorating economic and living situation, while the minimum wage for the regime’s government doesn’t exceed 279,000 pounds (about $18 USD).
The prices of school supplies have risen by over 100% compared to 2023, with a medium-quality school bag that previously sold for 135,000 Syrian pounds now priced at 310,000 pounds.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, over 3.7 million students began their studies this year in various educational stages, distributed across nearly 15,000 schools in different governorates, with more than 270,000 teachers, educators, and administrative staff.
These figures do not include students in educational institutions in regions outside the control of the Syrian regime in northwest and northeast Syria.