Education Ministry, UNICEF Signed Bilateral Cooperation Plan for 2015

DAMADCUS, (ST)_Ministry of Education and UNICEF, co-signed yesterday bilateral cooperation plan for 2015, which focuses on improving children’s equitable access to basic education and eliminating children drops from schools, especially children affected by the crisis.

In a press statement after the signing ceremony, Minister of Education, Dr. Hezwanel-Wezz said that the plan includes the rehabilitation of several schools, including health facilities, secure prefabricated school classrooms, provision of furniture for seats and panels and the distribution of bags, stationery and other educational materials.

The minister added that cooperation also includes support for the ministry in printing and distribution of textbooks and development of self-learning and support materials, school clubs, children’s participation in recreational activities and capacity building frameworks teaching through various training courses.

The minister indicated that the signing of the plan “comes in the framework of participatory action to follow up the educational process and ensure its requirements and building human knowledge and education.”

For her part, UNICEF Representative in Syria Hanaa Sanger revealed that the plan includes the maintenance of 600 schools in the most needy areas, expressing hope for continued cooperation with the Ministry of Education.

Earlier in the beginning of this month, the minister of education pointed out during a meeting with Regional Director of UNICEF in the Middle East and North Africa Maria Kalvesthat 5 thousands schools became out of service and the death of about five hundred children since the beginning of the crisis due to attacks by terrorist organizations against educational sector, while 600 school are being used as houses for displaced families and nearly 17,000 schools are used for 4.0003 million pupils and damages inflected on educational sector are estimated at 170 billion Syrian pounds.

Tomader Fateh