The Syrian Education Ministry said 248 schools have been damaged by the powerful earthquakes that rocked a vast region of Türkiye and northern Syria on Monday.
Minister of Education Dr. Darem Tabbaa said that the number of affected schools has reached 71 in Aleppo province, 50 in Lattakia, 27 in Hama, 99 in Tartous and only one school in Idlib countryside.
He made his remarks during his meeting with the directors of education in the provinces of Aleppo, Lattakia, Tartous, and Hama.
Tabbaa noted that 126 schools were designated as shelters in the damaged provinces. He also called for providing the ministry with a list of victims and injured staff and students.
The Director of Aleppo Education, Eng. Mustafa Abdul-Ghani, stated that 71 schools were damaged by the earthquake, of which four schools were completely damaged, and students cannot return to them.
The rest need immediate emergency intervention, he added, indicating that 99 schools have been designated as shelters in the city and three centers in the countryside, which currently house 17,000 people.
Moreover, the Director of Lattakia Education, Omran Abu Khalil, explained that the earthquake affected 50 schools in the governorate, 45 of which need repair, and five are facing the risk of falling, according to the construction committee.
A total of 13 schools have been turned into shelters for the displaced, 11 of which are in the governorate and two centers in Jableh, which currently includes 700 displaced people, he noted.
Speaking about the conditions of schools in Tartous, the Director of Tartous Education, Ali Shahrour, confirmed that 99 schools were damaged in the governorate, with minor damage that does not impede the attendance of students.
They are distributed as follows: 25 schools in Qadmous, 21 in Baniyas, five in Safita, 13 in Drakeish, 12 in Sheikh Badr, and eight in Safsafa. The rest are distributed in the regions of the province.
He pointed out that seven schools have been allocated as shelters for the affected, and there are no people in them currently.
For his part, the Director of Hama Education, Yahya Munjid, revealed that the number of damaged schools in the governorate reached 27 schools that were partially damaged.
Four schools in the governorate have turned into shelters, according to Munjid.
Meanwhile, Idlib Education Director, Eng. Abdul Hamid Mimar, indicated that one school in the regime-ruled area in the province was damaged as a result of the earthquake, and it is in Khan Shaykhun in rural Idlib.
The search for survivors continued in Aleppo, Lattakia, and Jableh. Aleppo was the most damaged with 53 buildings fully destroyed. Around 3,000 buildings could collapse due to aftershocks, local media reported.
