Syria discusses educational cooperation with Bahrain and Venezuela
On the sidelines of the “Transforming Education Summit”, currently held in New York, Syria’s Minister of Education Darem Tabbaa held talks with his Bahraini counterpart Majed bin Ali Al-Nouaimi on boosting cooperation in the field of education.
Tabbaa explained the importance of the Syrian paper which was submitted to the summit and which was entitled “Transforming Education under Wars and Disasters…Education in the Syrian Arab Republic as an Example”.
He said that the paper focused on ways to develop personal skills, solve problems, work within a team, learn through projects and find a mechanism for creating job opportunities. The paper also focused on the efforts that have been exerted by the Ministry of Education during the years of war until now, he added.
The minister pointed out that Syria is open for cooperation with Arab countries, particularly the Kingdom of Bahrain, stressing that educational cooperation between Arab countries is necessary.
He hailed the support provided to Syria’s education sector by international organization.
On his part, Al-Nouaimi said that his country is ready to support Syria in the domain of education, mainly the Syrian children who have been affected by the crisis in the country.
He clarified that Bahrain represents the Arab group in UNESCO’s General Conference and it will support Syria’s calls concerning education, pointing out that his country has announced several prizes in which the Syrian children can participate through UNESCO website.
During the meeting, the two ministers discussed the impacts of more than 10 years of war on Syria on the country’s education sector, noting that about 8000 schools went out of service due to terrorism and many other schools need rehabilitation and restoration as they were used as temporary housing for the displaced citizens during the war.
Tabbaa also met with the Venezuelan Minister of Education Yelitze Santaella and discussed with her cooperation between Syria and Venezuela in the field of education.
He affirmed the importance of exchanging visits by students with the aim of getting acquainted with the education system in both countries.
On her part, Santaella stressed her country’s support for Syria, pointing out that holding cultural and educational activities will consolidate cooperation between the two countries.
She said that Venezuela and Syria have faced similar challenges, affirming the need to maintain solidarity in order to overcome the difficult circumstances in the light of the unfair blockade.
She revealed that an important educational event will be held shortly in Venezuela and Syria will be invited to take part in it.
Hamda Mustafa