Students seeking basic education and secondary school certificates in Suwayda governorate (southern Syria) continued to be prevented from reaching examination centers in the governorate’s northern countryside, which is controlled by the Syrian government, for a second consecutive day.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Suwayda reported that the road remained closed to students, noting that the governorate had not witnessed any tensions over the issue similar to those that occurred the previous day, the first day of the examinations.
The correspondent added that students who managed to reach the examination centers live in Damascus and its countryside and had left Suwayda a short time earlier to ensure they could reach the centers without obstacles.
The Suwayda Media Directorate, citing local sources, reported on Sunday, August 30, that forces from the “National Guard,” affiliated with Hikmat al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Suwayda, had set up three new checkpoints on the Suwayda-Shahba road to prevent students wishing to take their examinations from leaving the governorate.
It added that members of the “National Guard” checkpoint at al-Anqoud roundabout also confronted a group of students after they passed the checkpoint on foot in hopes of reaching their examination centers in Suwayda’s northern countryside.
“National Guard” Denies Responsibility
For its part, the “National Guard” in Suwayda denied responsibility for preventing students from traveling to take their examinations, saying that it is “a military institution that follows the will of its people and their civil administration.”
In a statement issued Sunday, it said what had happened “was a free popular movement rejecting those humiliating and exhausting examinations for students and their families,” adding that “those who claim to care about the students’ safety should not have made their future a means of subjugating their families through examinations that contradict ethical values before educational, academic and security standards,” according to the statement.
The “National Guard” accused the Syrian government of continuing to “pressure the people of the mountain through various methods, most notably seeking to impose examinations in occupied villages despite widespread popular rejection of this step.” It described allegations that it was responsible for preventing students from reaching the examinations as “false claims intended to deceive public opinion.”
The “National Guard” also condemned a United Nations statement, accusing the organization of “adopting an incorrect and biased narrative about the situation in the region.” It called on UN representatives to establish the facts on the ground when issuing reports and assessments rather than “drafting them from their hotel rooms, far from the reality of the mountain and its people,” according to the statement.
The United Nations had expressed concern over the situation in Suwayda governorate and reports that armed men were preventing students seeking basic education and secondary school certificates from reaching examination centers.
The UN Office in Syria said in a statement issued on August 29 that every child has the right to education, stressing the need to enable students to learn, develop and take their examinations in a safe, stable and supportive environment.
The organization called on all concerned parties to ensure that children, with the support of their parents, are able to exercise their right to education without pressure or measures that restrict their movement or prevent them from reaching examination centers.
The office also welcomed Presidential Decree No. 163, issued on August 19, which granted students in Suwayda governorate an exceptional examination session.
Examinations Continue
The Syrian Ministry of Education confirmed that the exceptional examination session for students in Suwayda governorate would continue according to the scheduled timetable, saying it would continue taking all necessary measures to guarantee every student’s right to education and to sit the examinations.
In a statement issued Saturday, August 29, the ministry said it had taken all necessary measures and arrangements to ensure the proper conduct of the exceptional examination session, in coordination with the relevant ministries, authorities and Suwayda governorate.
The ministry expressed regret that not all students had been able to reach the examination centers and take their examinations despite the completion of preparations and the opening of the centers to them.
Students from Suwayda faced difficulties reaching their examination centers on the first day of the exceptional session, amid accusations that a number of students were being prevented from leaving the governorate.
According to Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Suwayda, groups of students and their families who opposed the location of the exceptional examination session, along with members of the “Shahba Operations Room,” which is affiliated with the “National Guard,” blocked several points along the Damascus-Suwayda road, stopping buses carrying students and examination supervisors to centers in villages in the northern countryside.
The correspondent added that the groups that stopped the buses intended to continue blocking the road throughout the examination period.
The exceptional session is being held under Presidential Decree No. 163 of 2026, which granted students from Suwayda who were unable to sit the regular examination session an exceptional opportunity to take the exams following the security events that the governorate witnessed in recent months.