It is still unclear whether the ministry will pass its over-criticized amendments, which pertain to religious content and phrasing around Assad’s fallen regime, leaving the world anticipating the future of education in the recently liberated Syria.
Rabat – Syria’s interim government’s education ministry has halted today its step to introduce amendments to the curriculum after receiving backlash and criticism.
The ministry said on Wednesday that it will introduce some changes concerning certain aspects included in the curriculum, amending some phrases and even removing entire pages. These changes encompass some more conservative religious phrasing as well as removing content glorifying the former Assad regime.
The list of amendments displays an intention to replace the expressions “path of goodness” with “Islamic path” and “those who are damned and have gone astray” with “Jews and Christians.”
The amendments also include switching the definition of “martyr,” from someone who died for the homeland to someone who sacrificed themselves “for the sake of God.”
The ministry also said it will remove some of the prophet’s Hadiths (sayings), describing them as weak.
The list of aspects to revisit also contains removing entire chapters, including a chapter on “the origins and evolution of life.”
The move also intends to remove parts honoring the toppled Assad and his regime, ranging from texts about blood donations in favor of the military to pictures of the Syrian flag and some Baath party texts.
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Meanwhile, while critics welcomed removing content related to praising the ousted Assad’s regime, they described removing or changing religious content as an attempt to wipe out fragments of the country’s history.
In a move to respond to the backlash, the ministry posted a statement on its Facebook page saying that the minister “only instructed the removal of content glorifying the deposed Assad regime and replaced images of the regime’s flag with those of the Syrian revolution’s flag in all textbooks.”
The minister further clarified that “the curricula in all schools across Syria remain unchanged until specialized committees are formed to review and audit them.”
It is still unclear whether the ministry will halt its over-criticized amendments, leaving the world anticipating the future of education in the recently liberated Syria.
The situation in Syria is still unclear as the country is now rebounding from over a decade of civil war, which started in 2011 and came to a culminating point on December 8 when a rebel coalition led by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) entered Damascus.
The long war was further exacerbated by the intervention of internal power dynamics, regional influences, and international involvement. Many observers are hopeful for a smooth transition to rebuild the war-torn country.
