Education in Syria: hidden victim of the conflict of weapon of war?

Abstract

This paper offers a unique comparative study on primary and secondary education in opposition-held and regime-held Syrian schools since the beginning of the conflict in 2011. Doing so, it seeks to investigate whether and how education upholds visions of peace and conflict in the country. Building on schoolbook content analysis, semi-structured interviews and personal experience, this study highlights multiple faces of Syrian education. In both areas of control, curricula are highly politicised and largely reinforce intra-Syria divisions, if they do not simply erase ‘other’ groups. Moreover, the vacuum of power left by the conflict across the country resulted in the multiplication of private schools and cultural centres and the rising influence of external actors–mainly Russia and Turkey–who use formal and informal schooling as a tool of (soft) power. Altogether, the manipulation of the education sector overwhelmingly prioritises political rehabilitation and power consolidation over social cohesion and reconciliation. This highlights, yet again, the challenges of highly fragmented conflicts and the need for combined efforts to turn education from a weapon into a tool for peace.