Syrian students defy ISIL, take final exams

After three years of being out of school due to the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) seizing their areas, thousands of Syrian students are currently sitting their final exams in northern Syria.

From May 30th through June 16th, a large number of students traveled to the cities of al-Hasakeh and Qamishli to finally try to obtain their school diplomas.

Student Khalid Mustafa al-Hamoud, 18, told Al-Shorfa he is focusing hard on his exams to obtain a high school diploma.

His dream of studying English and translation is before him once again after a long period of despair when ISIL seized his hometown of Tel Abyad on the border with Turkey.

Despite being out of school for close to three years, he studied at home away from the prying eyes of the group’s elements with help from his parents and relatives, he said.

Al-Hamoud also took private lessons which prepared him to take the exams in al-Hasakeh after submitting a free-standing application.

"Staying in constant hiding from ISIL elements and studying secretly deepened my motivation to pursue my education," he said, "especially after seeing many youths brainwashed by the group and turning into people with mindsets that bear no resemblance to the community to which they belong".

High school official exams are being held from May 30th through June 13th for students in the science track, and through June 15th for students in the literary track and June 16th for religious and vocational studies students, said Juhayna Hajeej, an administrator with the Education Directorate in al-Hasakeh.

The selection of the exams sites took into account the security situation in those areas "to ensure the students' lives are not put at risk", she told Al-Shorfa,

The number of students registered to take the exams in al-Hasakeh province stands at 15,896, she said.

'A hope for tomorrow'

Hamad al-Ahmad, 50, a native of the city of al-Shaddadi was also forced to move to al-Hasakeh with his family to escape ISIL, he told Al-Shorfa.

Students in the areas under ISIL control "do not receive a real education because schools are either shut down or they promote ISIL’s ideology", he said.

"This is not what I wanted for my three children, so I decided to move to al-Hasakeh to save them from ISIL's ideology," he added.

The education situation in the city is "very good", he said, adding that students coming from all regions are treated very well by the education authorities.

One of al-Ahmad's sons is sitting for the preparatory (junior high) diploma exams.

"This seemed impossible in the past, especially that my son was forced to work and assist me in covering the family’s expenses," he said.

"ISIL wants residents in the areas under its control to stay ignorant in order to maintain its grip on them," he said, adding that he is determined to see his children complete their education.

It is "a weapon that will help them cope with the future, and a hope for tomorrow when the war ends".

Housing and psychological rehabilitation for students

A group of activists and teachers are tutoring students whose education has suffered due to their presence in ISIL-controlled areas, said social activist and National Peace Council member Ammar Saleh.

Many such students have come to the cities of al-Hasakeh and Qamishli, he told Al-Shorfa, noting that they are either residents of areas that were recently liberated from ISIL or had escaped the group's oppressive rule.

"These students are in real need of special care because of the pressures they were subjected to under ISIL," he said.

Some families moved to al-Hasakeh so that their children could continue their education, Saleh said, while hundreds of students went there last week to sit their final exams.

They were provided with lodging and transportation services in collaboration with several religious and social institutions, he added.

Recreational activities also were held for those students on the sidelines of the tutoring sessions as a form of psychological rehabilitation, he said.

This is especially important, Saleh said, since many of the youth have only recently been freed of ISIL’s control.

Around two million children do not attend school in Syria, according to the UN.