A graduation ceremony was held at Türkiye’s embassy in Damascus for 28 Syrian high school students who returned to Syria after studying in Türkiye. The students’ families, Türkiye’s Ambassador to Damascus Nuh Yılmaz and the embassy’s education counselor Muhammed Musa Budak attended the ceremony.
Yılmaz said the diplomas awarded to the students were highly significant for developing relations between the two countries. Noting that students who had studied in Türkiye for an extended period had not lost their rights, Yılmaz said the graduates could continue their education in Türkiye or Syria.
A Turkish school will open in Syria
Yılmaz announced that a Turkish school would open in Syria and that Maarif schools affiliated with Türkiye’s Ministry of National Education would begin operating next year. Saying that cooperation in education was continuing, Yılmaz said holding the ceremony at the embassy demonstrated the state’s importance attached to education.
Ambassador Yılmaz also said that work was underway to organize examination centers and facilitate logistical processes in the coming period.
Education counselor Budak said the graduating students had received the first diplomas awarded under Turkish open education programs in Syria. Budak said the open education programs, conducted in coordination with Türkiye’s Ministry of National Education, were being implemented in more than 25 countries in addition to Türkiye.
Budak said the open education program provided important support for Syrian students facing problems with educational infrastructure and difficulties adapting after returning to their country following the overthrow of the regime.
Budak said the opening of a Turkish school in Damascus, which will provide education at the kindergarten, primary, middle and high school levels, was approaching. He announced that pre-registration had been completed and that classes would begin within one or two weeks. Budak said the aim was to open similar schools in Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia and Homs in the future.
Turkish language departments are reopening
Budak said cultural relations between Türkiye and Syria were also continuing to develop, announcing that the Department of Turkish Language at the University of Aleppo would reopen and that Damascus would establish its first Department of Turkish Language. Budak said students and graduates would form a bridge between the two countries in the long term.
Ahmed Muhibbiddin, one of the graduates, said the process of returning to Syria after the overthrow of the regime had been very difficult for students. Saying he was happy to have graduated successfully, Muhibbiddin thanked the embassy’s education counseling office for providing the opportunities needed for them to continue their education.
Şeyma Raciha, another graduate, said she had moved to Mersin after the earthquake and that her first period in Türkiye had been difficult. Saying that she had learned Turkish through work and effort, Raciha said she planned to study Islamic sciences in Damascus at university and thanked Türkiye on behalf of the students.
