Overview of Syrian Education

System

Ghada Aldasooqi , Senior Advisor

NOKUT

Education landscape before the crisis

• Syria had extensive education system

• Among the highest literacy rate in the MENA region

over 93%.

• Centralized education system

• Ministry of Higher Education

Statisticshttp://mohe.gov.sy/mohe/index.php?node

=555&cat=4677&

29.01.2019| 2

• About 62% of Syrian students studying abroad

were in Europe.

• There was not gender gap in higher education

• however! current situation in some universities the

number of female students exceeds male students.

29.01.2019| 3

Status of current Education System

• Enrollment rate has significantly fallen from 95 %

prior to 2011 to 50% currently!

• The main provider of education:

• Ministry of Education

• The NGO sector

• The UN agencies

• Almost have a million students sat for national

ninth and twelfth grade exams

Ministry of Education

29.01.2019| 4

• One out of five schools is unfit for use:

o damaged

o totally destroyed

o being used as shelters

• Some areas are more affected in terms of

education: Idlib, Raqqa, Deir –Ezzor, Hama, Darra.

29.01.2019| 5

Overview of Education prior to the crisis

29.01.2019| 6

Map of Syrian Conflict

29.01.2019| 7

http://syria.liveuamap.com/

• The largest public institutions

are located in regime-held

areas (marked in red) on this

map.

• Public universities have smaller

secondary campuses located in

smaller towns and cities, some

of which have had to close

• Some private institutions have

been forced to close down or

move.

Map Source:

www.almasdarnews.com/article/complete

-battle-map-of-syria-mid-october-update/

29.01.2019| 8

The Syrian Civil

War

Map of Higher Education: State universities

29.01.2019| 10

Map of Higher Education: Private Universities

29.01.2019| 11

• The Ministry of Higher Education has taken measures to assist

students affected by the conflict

• Students may transfer to institutions in more stable areaso Substantial movement of students and surge in enrolment at Damascus,

Baath, Tishreen

• Furat University set up Representative Offices on other

campuses. o Furat students could graduate with a Furat University Degree, although the

Degree was awarded at another location in Syria.

• Ministry of Higher Education prioritizes National Standardized

Examinations to promote qualityo Implemented in fields such as Medicine. Pharamacy, odontology.

Ambitions to cover all fields

o Statistics and benchmarking published online.

o Recently suggested requirement: Students will have to pass the National

Unified Exam in order to obtain a degree. 29.01.2019| 13

Primary and Secondary Education

Until 2002

• 6 years of primary + 3 years of preparatory/intermediate + 3

years of upper secondary, generally resulting in the General

Secondary Education Certificate (.شهادة الدراسة الثانوية العامة )

Since 2002

Basic Education Certificate /شهادة الدراسة للتعليم الأساسي -9 years of

basic education

General Secondary Education Certificate شهادة الدراسة الثانوية )

3-( العامة years of secondary education divided into one year of

common core education followed by two years of academic track

education:

Literary

Scientific

29.01.2019| 14

• The general secondary education program leads to Al-

Shahada al-Thânawiyya al-Amma or Baccalauréat.

• General Secondary Certificate has 2 sections:

Literary & Scientific

• literary section access to liberal arts/humanities

• Scientific section access to all fields of studies

29.01.2019| 15

• About 60% of students take GSC while 40% take

Technical Secondary School Education».

• Admission is regulated by MOHE/ Higher Education

Council.

• Admission characters/requirement are modified

every year.

• The admission process is called Mofaddla and the

results are published on the webpage of MOHE.

29.01.2019| 16

Sample: Certified copy of General Secondary Education

Certificate

29.01.2019| 17

Sample: General Secondary Education Certificate

29.01.2019| 18

Sample: Certified copy of General Secondary

Education Certificate

29.01.2019| 19

General Secondary Education

Ministry of

Education

Scientific section

Exam results for the General Secondary Education Certificate

29.01.2019| 20

General Secondary Education Certificate

Scientific Section

Registration No.

by an Education is normally issued in Arabic by an Education

Directorate in the relevant county under the Ministry of Education in

Syria

29.01.2019| 21

Secondary Education Exam Results Online

29.01.2019| 22

Registration No. Stated in

the SSC. Certiftcate.

http://moed.gov.sy/site/ look for النتائج الامتحانات( Exam Results)

Post-Secondary Institutions/TVET Education: «Associate

Degree» مساعد مجاز

• 1970, to provide high-quality mid-level technical

trained cadres to function as assistants to

university trained professionals such as engineers,

dentists etc.

• Under the overall supervision of the Higher Council

of Intermediate Institutes المجلس الاعلى للمعاهدالمتوسطة /

29.01.2019| 23

TVET con.ted

Ministry of Higher Education administers twenty-

seven intermediate institutes affiliated with Syria's

four national universities

sixty-seven institutes are administered by various

other ministries and government agencies.

Ministry of Education administers sixty-six higher

institutes in the areas of teacher training, physical

education, industry, commercial banking, and

women’s crafts.

29.01.2019| 24

TVET con.ted

• Admission: successful completion of secondary

education & achievement of the required cut-off

score on the baccalaureate examination in the

relevant secondary track.

• Duration 2 years: theoretical courses (up to 25% of

the curriculum), technical courses and labs (20–

30% of the curriculum), and applied or practical

subjects (50–60% of the curriculum).

29.01.2019| 25

TVET con.ted

• Students must perform one month of practical

training after each school year.

• Typically, the qualification is awarded as شهادة

دبلوم تقني Technical Diploma Certificate.

• Mainly for employment, some take further studies

at university level at certain conditions.

29.01.2019| 26

Sample: Technical Diploma

29.01.2019| 27

Transcript of Records Technical Diploma

29.01.2019| 28

29.01.2019| 29

Higher Education System in Syria

• Supervision of Ministry of Higher Education

• http://www.mohe.gov.sy/mohe/index.php

• 8 state universities.

• 22 private universities.

• Higher Institutes: 4 under the auspicious of MOHE

and others are affiliated to the universities,

Specialized institutes offering specialized studies, usually

master’s and PhD degrees .

29.01.2019| 30

29.01.2019| 31

Ministry of Higher Education

• http://www.mohe.gov.sy/mohe/index.php?node=55

10&cat=1829&

29.01.2019| 32

Higher Education Qualifications

First cycle:

• Ijazah )اجازة Diploma/License) - often translated as

Bachelor

4 years in arts, business and sciences

5 years in most engineering fields and some

professional areas (e.g. dentistry)

6 years in medicine

29.01.2019| 33

Post-graduate level

• Higher Diploma عاليدبلوم 1 year

• Master Degrees:

Majesteer years 2ماجستير

Majesteer Takhasosy يتخصصماجستير 2 -3

years/ spescialized Master

• Phd Degrees / الدكتوراه: minimum 2 - Maximum 4

years

29.01.2019| 34

Ijazah in Sciences, Damascus University

29.01.2019| 35

Graduation Certificate /Mossadakka

29.01.2019| 36

Graduation Certificate /Mossadakka

29.01.2019| 37

Ijazah in Medicine Aleppo University

29.01.2019| 38

Ijazah in Medicine Kalamoon University

29.01.2019| 39

29.01.2019| 40

Example: Transcript of Records from

Baath University

29.01.2019| 41

This version

has no

University

logo

Grades

covered with

tape to

prevent

tampering

This

version

has logo

29.01.2019| 42

Documentation Standards

• No point/ credit system, however: private

universities started using credit hours system.

• Academic year is divided in Fall and Spring

semesters; 35 weeks.

• grades: lowest 50 highest 100!

• Usually 13± subjects taken at academic year

29.01.2019| 43

Documentation Standards

• Documents are issued in Arabic (Private institutions

developed bilingual (Arabic/English) formats).

• Grades may be listed in either Arabic or Western

numerals

• Documents are legalized by the issuing authority

• legalization from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

• Syrian educational documents have few or no

security features. 29.01.2019| 44

Verification

• Contact via international office at the university

• Scanned documents sending emails

• Average time to receive an answer is 4 weeks+

29.01.2019| 45

Online verification

• Most Syrian institutions have contact details

available online:

o Damascus University

o http://damascusuniversity.edu.sy/ce/ird/academic-verification

o Baath University

o http://department.albaath-univ.edu.sy/Cultural/

o Tishreen University

o http://tishreen.edu.sy/contact-us

29.01.2019| 46

Verification

o Syrian Virtual University

o https://www.svuonline.org/SVUIS/pages.php?id=6

o Use www.web.archive.org to browse older versions of web

pages (works even if the current version of the web site is

down!)

29.01.2019| 47

• Direct web search: Finding published exam results, lists of

graduates, members of professional organizations etc.

o Requires understanding in Arabic

o Example: List of graduates with Bachelor degrees from the Faculty of

Law, Damascus University, 2015:

http://damascusuniversity.edu.sy/faculties/law/images/stories/news/rerf12015.

pdf

• It is often easier to find postgraduate students and their

research than undergraduates.

o Example: Annual Report on Research from Damascus University,

2009:

http://www.damascusuniversity.edu.sy/ce/srd/images/stories/news/rep

ort2009.pdf

29.01.2019| 48

امتحانات كلية الآداب والعلوم الإنسانية

29.01.2019| 49

Thank you for your attention

29.01.2019| 50