Syria reopens school in Idlib after 60 years

Syria reopened a school in northern Idlib province Sunday after nearly 60 years, Emergency and Disaster Management Minister Raed al-Saleh said.

“After being closed for nearly 60 years by the Baath Party and the Bashar al-Assad regime, we took part today in reopening the Holy Land School in the Jisr al-Shughur area,” Saleh said in a statement.

“This scene is part of the Syria we dreamed of -- a Syria for all its people,” he said.

Al-Saleh did not specify when the school was ordered closed or provide details about the circumstances surrounding the decision. He also gave no information on the grade levels or the number of students the school is expected to accommodate.

The school was also damaged by shelling during the years of the Syrian revolution, which started with mass protests in 2011 and ended in December 2024 with the collapse of the Assad regime.

The move comes as part of broader efforts to rehabilitate educational infrastructure in Idlib province, where several schools have recently reopened.

In June, 50 schools renovated with support from the “Loyalty to Idlib” campaign reopened during a ceremony in the city of Kafr Nabl attended by Saleh and Idlib Governor Mohammad Abdulrahman.