Today, a meeting which was organized by the General Shura Council took place with the attendance of HTS leader, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, and the education committee of the council to discuss support for the education sector in the greater Idlib area.
This comes after several organizations halted financial support for a number of schools, subsequently, five major schools in Idlib closed their doors due to the lack of funding to pay the teaching staff.
During today’s meeting, the SSG’s Minister of Education, Ibrahim Salama, gave a rundown of the education sector in Idlib. The Minister stated that “there are 266.494 students in elementary school (grade 1-4) in 460 schools of which 124 are non-subsidized. 136.000 students attend middle school (grade 5-9) in 540 schools of which 182 are non-subsidized. 26.015 students attend high school (grade 9-12) in 130 schools of which 37 are non-subsidized”. Mr. Salama added, “Certain organizations have decided to abandon support to the secondary schools, which is a crucial stage because it determines the fate of the student.”
The SSG’s Prime Minister at the conference stated, ” To ensure the future of generations and to take our responsibilities, we studied our budgets and rearranged it in consultation with the leadership of the liberated areas, and funds were secured to meet the salaries of educational cadres of the middle and high schools. “
During the meeting, the head of the military faction HTS, Abu Mohamad al-Jolani, who in the past year has appeared in most of the major meetings held by the SSG, said ” Real wealth is creating an educated generation capable of managing itself and raising children to a level beneficial to all of society.” al-Jolani also added that after reevaluating the resources of the liberated areas, the leadership has decided to deduct funds from different institutions in order to secure the needed funds for the educational sector.
In the outcome of the meeting it was agreed that starting November 1st, the SSG through its Ministry of Education will start paying the salaries of the non-subsidized educational cadres working in the secondary schools of the greater Idlib region. While the school cadres teaching grade 5-9 will receive their financial support starting from the 1st of December upon completion of the necessary administrative procedures.
