In the battered countryside of southern Idlib, Syria, a fragile sense of normalcy is taking root as families displaced by years of civil war return to their devastated villages. The echoes of conflict linger everywhere—bullet-scarred walls, shattered windows, and classrooms stripped bare by looting—but hope is visible in the determined faces of children once again heading to school.
Nearly a year after former President Bashar Assad was ousted in a rebel offensive in December 2024, the landscape remains scarred. According to the Associated Press, hundreds of schools across Idlib are still in ruins. Yet, for many families, reopening these battered schools is the first step toward rebuilding their lives.
Safiya al-Jurok, her husband, and their three children are among those who have returned to Maar Shamarin, a village once caught between warring factions. The family now lives in a tent pitched beside the remains of their destroyed home. Despite the hardships, al-Jurok sends her children—now in third, fourth, and fifth grades—to the local elementary school, which reopened in October 2025. "If it rains, it'll rain on my children," she told the Associated Press, describing how her kids sit cross-legged on thin blankets in classrooms where sunlight pours through broken windows and paint peels in long strips. There is no running water, and the cold floor offers little comfort as winter approaches.
The school’s principal, Abdullah Hallak, paints a grim picture of the challenges they face. "Our kids are coming here where there are no seats, no boards and no windows and as you know, winter is coming," Hallak explained. After residents fled the area during the conflict, the school was looted of nearly everything—desks, doors, windows, even the steel reinforcement that once gave the building its strength. "Some parents call us to complain that their kids are getting sick sitting on the floor, so they have them skip school," Hallak added, underscoring the daily obstacles to education in post-war Syria.
Across the country, the scale of destruction is staggering. Deputy Education Minister Youssef Annan reported that 40% of schools remain destroyed, most of them in rural areas like Idlib and Hama, which bore the brunt of nearly 14 years of civil war. In Idlib alone, 350 schools are out of service, and only about 10% have been rehabilitated so far. "Many schools were stripped bare, with iron stolen from roofs and structures, requiring years and significant funds to rebuild," Annan told the press.
Despite these daunting statistics, the Syrian government and aid organizations are trying to turn the tide. The new school year officially began in mid-September 2025, accompanied by an emergency education plan aimed at accommodating the growing number of returnee students. Annan revealed that the ministry intends to launch a remote learning program to expand access to education, though "it requires more time" and hasn't yet been implemented.
Currently, about 4 million Syrian students are enrolled in school, according to Annan. However, UNICEF’s Syria representative, Meritxell Relaño Arana, estimates that roughly 2.5 to 3 million children remain out of school. "The access to education by many children in Syria is difficult. Many of the schools have been destroyed, many of the teachers did not go back to educate and many of the children don’t even have money to buy the school materials," Relaño said. She highlighted that, in some cases, children must work after school to help support their families. For al-Jurok’s children, that means picking olives to contribute to the family’s modest income from olive oil production.
The lack of basic resources—books, desks, and even teachers—poses ongoing challenges. Teacher Bayan al-Ibrahim, who works at Maar Shamarin Elementary, said that many students have fallen behind academically after years of displacement. "Some families had been displaced to areas where education wasn’t supported or their circumstances didn’t allow them to follow up on their kids’ education," she explained. The absence of seating and school materials makes it harder for teachers to maintain discipline, and parents struggle to stay involved. "There are no books, so parents aren’t aware what their kids are studying," al-Ibrahim noted.
Despite these hurdles, Maar Shamarin Elementary stands as a symbol of recovery. The school now hosts around 450 students from first to fourth grade, but demand continues to grow. "We have more students applying, but there is no more space," Principal Hallak said. The lack of capacity means that some children are still left out, a painful reality in a country where education is seen as a lifeline for the next generation.
Rebuilding Syria’s education system is a herculean task. According to UNICEF, efforts are underway to rehabilitate schools, provide temporary classrooms, and train teachers. "Many children were traumatized by years of conflict, so they need to go back to safe schools where psychosocial support is available," Relaño emphasized, adding that catch-up classes are being offered to help students who missed years of schooling reintegrate into the education system. The urgency is heightened by the return of more than one million refugees from abroad, according to the U.N. refugee agency.
Education in Syria is not only about learning to read and write; it is also about healing. "Children need safe schools where psychosocial support is available," Relaño told reporters, underscoring the dual role of schools as places of learning and havens for psychological recovery. The trauma of war lingers, but the classroom can offer a sense of stability and hope for children who have known little else but upheaval.
Yet, the path to recovery is long and uncertain. With much of the country’s educational infrastructure stripped for scrap and resources scarce, rebuilding will take years and major funding. The international community’s support—through organizations like UNICEF—remains vital. Local authorities and aid groups continue to work together to provide temporary solutions, but the need for permanent, well-equipped schools is pressing.
For families like the al-Juroks, the reopening of Maar Shamarin Elementary is a lifeline. It may not have windows or desks, but it offers a chance for their children to reclaim a piece of childhood lost to war. As winter approaches and the nights grow colder, the resilience of Syria’s returning families—and the determination of their children to learn—stand as a testament to hope amid the ruins.
