Thursday, December 2, the transitional government tried to defend itself on social networks by minimizing the changes announced in school programs. The day before, the announcement of these changes had triggered strong reactions.
“The curricula of all Syrian schools will remain as they are until specialized committees are formed to review them” defended the Syrian Minister of Education of the transitional government, Nazir Al-Qadri, this Thursday, January 2 in a press release published on Telegram. A message which is intended to be reassuring and which takes a step back from an announcement which had difficulty getting through the day before.
A Facebook publication from the ministry generated numerous reactions, accumulating more than 14,000 comments. There we see several documents reporting «modifications» study programs “from the first year of primary school to the third year of secondary school”. Changes which include the interpretation of a Quranic verse relating to “those who provoked anger” of God and “the lost” as referring to Jews and Christians. The nationalist phrase “sacrifice your life to defend your homeland” is further replaced by the expression “sacrifice one’s life for the cause of God”. Also announced are «modifications» drastic cuts to history, philosophy and religious education curricula as well as the removal of poems about women and love. And this “in the name of the general interest”.
Changes that worry
Activists were quick to denounce these changes, which they consider based on “extremist ideologies”. CNN Arabic reports that many are pointing to the removal of the theory of evolution from science textbooks as a big step backwards. Yazidi Kurdish activist and journalist Shiyar Khaleal believes on Facebook that “Education based on extremist ideologies can shape individuals whose ideas threaten regional and international security.” He adds that “Changing the school curriculum under the supervision of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is not only an educational danger, but a long-term threat to the social fabric and future of Syria.”
The Ministry of Education initially justified these changes by removing propaganda from the Baath Party, in power under Bashar al-Assad. But the Syrian transitional government, which knows it is being scrutinized by the international community, has repeatedly sought to reassure minorities that they would not be victims of violence. “We only ordered the removal of parts glorifying the fallen Assad regime, and we adopted images of the flag of the Syrian Revolution instead of the regime flag,” added Nazir Al-Qadri in his statement on Telegram. In an interview with Reuters in mid-December, the Syrian Minister of Education affirmed that Christian and Muslim religions would continue to be taught, that primary schools would remain mixed while secondary education would still be largely segregated, as in the past. of Assad.
