Syria, Russia to support professional education and teaching of the Russian language

Damascus, (ST) –  On the sidelines of the Fifth Syrian-Russian Joint Meeting to Follow-up on the International Conference for the Return of Syrian Refugees and Displaced Persons, Minister of Education Dr. Darem Tabbaa discussed on Monday with Russian Deputy Minister of Education Gerbob Denis Olegovich, and the corresponding delegation, means of enhancing educational cooperation between the two countries.

During the meeting, which was held at the ministry building, Minister Tabbaa pointed to the importance of the agreements previously signed between the two sides, to support the education sector in various fields, pointing to the possibility of establishing a Syrian-Russian educational complex in Damascus countryside equipped with high technologies. “This complex will provide educational services to those interested from different countries of the Middle East” Tabaa added.

Minister Tabaa stressed the role of exchanging experiences with the Russian side, through students and teachers, and focusing on supporting vocational and technical education, as there are 500 vocational schools and 57 vocational intermediate institutes. He referred to the number of schools that were vandalized and destroyed due to terrorism.He said that out of 23,000 schools (before the terrorist war on Syria), there are currently 14,000 schools in service, and 7,000 schools still need restoration, 5,000 of which were completely destroyed.

In turn, Olegovich stressed the importance of cooperation with the Syrian side, especially in the field of teaching the Russian language, as work is currently underway to prepare advanced curricula, to improve the level of students, which will be ready soon. He stressed the readiness of the Russian side to establish training institutes for Russian language teachers in Syria and to open a branch of Moscow University in Syria to qualify specialized teachers.

Raghda Sawas