Study in syria - Education System IN SYRIA

GENERAL INFORMATION     |     SYRIA EDUCATION SYSTEM

HIGHER EDUCATION     |     STAGES OF STUDIES

ADMISSION TO HIGHER EDUCATION     |     CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

General Information

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education are primarily responsible for all aspects of administration of the Syrian schools, colleges, and universities, including curricula development.

Schooling is divided into 6 years of compulsory primary education, 3 years of lower secondary education, and 3 years of higher secondary education. General secondary education offers academic courses and prepares students for university entrance; the last 2 years of this stage are divided into literary and scientific streams. Vocational secondary training offers courses in industry, agriculture, commerce, and primary school-teacher training. The usual entrance age for higher secondary schooling is 15 but is 14 for teacher training institutions. This system was established in 1967, when the country signed the Arab Cultural Unity Agreement with Jordan and Egypt, introducing a uniform school ladder in the three countries and determining curricula examination procedures and teacher training requirements for each level.

The demand for education has increased sharply. Between 1970 and 1976, enrollment in the primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary levels increased by 43 percent, 52 percent and 65 percent, respectively. During the same period, enrollments in the various institutes of higher learning increased by over 66 percent. In 1984, 1 million boys and 818,000 girls attended primary schools, which numbered 8,489. Nearly 1,600 secondary schools enrolled over 700,000 pupils.

The Ministry of Higher Education in 1984 supervised four universities, one each in Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia, and Homs. The University of Damascus, founded in 1923, had faculties of law, medicine, pharmacology, letters, dentistry, Islamic jurisprudence, agriculture, architecture, engineering, science, fine arts, commerce, and education. The Higher Institute for Social Work, established in 1962 to conduct research into social and economic problems, also was affiliated with the university. The University of Aleppo, opened in 1958, had faculties of engineering and sciences, agriculture, and literature. Tishrin University in Latakia had a similar curriculum. Al Baath University in Homs, opened in 1979, was Syria's first university with departments of petroleum engineering and veterinary medicine.

Literacy

A second major thrust of Syrian educational planning was eliminating illiteracy. In 1981, an estimated 2 million Syrians --42 percent of the population over 12 years of age-- were illiterate. In accordance with the government's drive to eliminate illiteracy by 1991, in 1984 approximately 57,000 Syrians attended literacy classes sponsored by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.

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Syria Education System

Primary
Length of program in years: 6
Age level from: 6 to: 12

Intermediate
Length of program in years: 3
Age level from: 12 to: 15

Secondary
Length of program in years: 3
Age level from: 15 to: 18
Certificate/diploma awarded: Al-Shahâda Al-Thânawiyya-Al'Amma (Baccalaureate, Secondary School Leaving Certificate)

Technical Secondary
Length of program in years: 3
Age level from: 15 to: 18
Certificate/diploma awarded: Al-Shahâda Al Thânawiyya Al-Fanniyya (Technical Baccalaureate)

Curriculum
Intermediate education lasts for three years. At the end of grade 9, pupils sit for the Al Kafa'a (Intermediate Level Diploma). Secondary education lasts for three years. Students may either enter the general or the technical branches, although entry is selective and is based on the Al Kafa'a examination. The first year is introductory. After this, pupils enter either the literary or the scientific track. At the end of the three-year course, pupils sit for the Al-Shahâda-Al Thânawiyya/Baccalaureate/Secondary School Leaving Certificate. Technical secondary education is divided into industrial and commercial tracks. At the end of the course, pupils sit for the Al-Shahâda Al-Thânawiyya Al-Fanniyya (Technical Baccalaureate) which offers entry to the Institute of Technical Education.

Higher Education

Stages of studies

Non-university level post-secondary studies (technical/vocational type)

Non-university level

Technical and vocational Institutes, known as intermediate Institutes, offer post-Baccalaureate courses in Industry, Agriculture, Engineering, Medical Sciences, Economics, Administration, Teacher Training,Transport, Tourism, etc. Courses last two years after the Technical Baccalaureate. They award the Wathîqat Takharruj or Musaddiqat Takarruj Certificate (Associate Degree). Students are required to undertake one month of practical training during the summer vacation. The Supreme Council of intermediate Institutes is the responsible body.

University level studies

University level first stage: Licence/Bachelor

The Licence/Bachelor Degree is awarded after four to six years study depending on the subject. In Arts, Humanities, Law, Islamic Law, Economics, Social Sciences and Fine Arts, studies last four years; in Engineering, Architecture, Agriculture, Pharmacy, Dentistry and Veterinary Science, five years. In the faculties of Engineering, including Architecture, the Licence is awarded on the results of the final year examination and of a practical project. In Medicine, the Licence/Bachelor of Docteur en Médecine is awarded after six years, marking the end of the first stage of medical studies.

University level second stage

Master's Degree, Postgraduate Diploma

The Master's Degree is awarded after a minimum of two years' study beyond the Licence/Bachelor Degree. A Postgraduate Diploma is conferred after one year's further study.

University level third stage: Doctorate

The highest University Degree. It is awarded after three years' study following the Master's Degree. It involves personal research work and the defence of a thesis.

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Admissions to higher education

Admission requirements

Name of secondary school credential required: Al-Shahâda Al-Thânawiyya Al-Fanniyya
For entry to: Institute of Technical Education

Admission to university-level studies

Name of secondary school credential required: Al Shahâda Al Thânawiyya al-Âmma
Alternatives to credentials: Al-Shahâda Al-Thânawiyya Al-Fanniyya with score above 70% for related fields.

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Children with special Needs

Possibilities for People with Disabilities

People with disabilities face many difficulties in Syria, not the least of them being looked down on. Al-Safina is a home for people with mental handicaps, the only l’Arche community in the Middle East. The eight residents of al-Safina have done much to increase their neighbors’ acceptance of people with disabilities through simple neighborly interaction and visits.

MCC will arrange a several day trip to a distant part of Syria for the people of al-Safina and their assistants, as well as members of their sheltered workshop. The trip is an eight-hour bus trek to northeast Syria, where the residents will stay in a monastery. The people of al-Safina will have a series of meetings — some informal and others more structured — with people from northeast Syria. In their own words and with their lives they will speak about the possibilities of people with disabilities enjoying dignified living. Your contribution will help raise positive awareness about the mentally handicapped by people who know how to do so best.

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