Damascus, 12 Feb. Syria reopened on Sunday the educational centers closed following the earthquake on Monday, with the exception of schools located in the four hardest hit areas in the north of the country.
According to Syria’s official news agency, SANA, “after a week of earthquake-related closures, school hours resumed today for all kindergartens, vocational, public and Sharia (Islamic) schools in all governorates with the exception of the affected regions of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Idlib”, some of which are beyond the control of the Damascus government.
“Education officials should coordinate with governors of (damaged) provinces to assess the situation and gradually reopen education centers after studying the condition” of the buildings, SANA said.
The agency, quoting Education Ministry Director of Education Emad Hazim, said the resumption of the educational process “was decided after verification and verification of the safety of school buildings”.
He also pointed out that “there are partially damaged schools, and work will be carried out in coordination with the corresponding ministries and authorities so that they can operate again as soon as possible”.
Schools in Syria were closed after the initial earthquake hit that country and Turkey on Monday, followed by strong aftershocks, which killed more than 28,000 people in the two territories, according to the latest count.
In Syria, the death toll stands at 3,575 on Sunday and the number of injured is around 5,300, recorded for the most part in opposition areas in northwestern Syria, where yesterday the relief group of the Helmets whites ended the search for survivors. EFE
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