Around 49,000 students in primary and high school are starting the new school year in Syria’s northwestern Operation Peace Spring area thanks to the counterterrorism and reconstruction efforts of Türkiye.
The students in the towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain started the 2022-2023 school year.
Tal Abyad's Education Director Mukri Hajj Imam told Anadolu Agency (AA) that around 49,000 students have started their academic year in 485 schools and that about 2,500 administrators, attendants and teachers are working in these schools.
Imam reminded that the restoration works of 90 schools damaged by the PKK terrorist organization and its Syrian wing, the YPG, were completed since Operation Peace Spring was carried out while the restoration of another 11 schools was ongoing.
Imam explained that students will receive a better and more comfortable education in schools whose maintenance has been completed.
Fourth-grade student Dua El Jaber stated that he was happy to meet his friends at school after the summer break and said that he dreams of becoming a doctor in the future.
A fifth-grade student Beşşar Salih also expressed his happiness to be sitting in the first row of the class and that he will become a doctor when he grows up.
Ceyda El Nahar, another fifth-grade student at Ahmet Yasin Primary School, noted that she is happy to be reunited with her school, teachers and friends, and that she will become an oil engineer or eye doctor in the future.
Tal Abyad was used as a so-called military base for four years by the YPG, during which time the terrorist organization destroyed the district's schools.
Locals living in areas held by the YPG have long suffered from its atrocities, as the terrorist organization has a notorious record of human rights abuses, ranging from kidnappings, recruitment of child soldiers, torture, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.
Türkiye carried out Operation Peace Spring against the YPG, which is mainly backed by the United States, in northern Syria to prevent a terrorism corridor from being created along its southern border, as well as to bring peace and tranquility to the region.
After the operation's completion, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the Syrian National Army (SNA) units focused on ensuring the region's security and creating the necessary conditions for the return of civilians displaced by terrorism.
Since the launch of the operation, Türkiye has been supporting every aspect of life in the region, from health to education, security and agriculture. In this respect, efforts to clear bombs and improvised explosive devices were launched and administration duties were given to local councils.
The country also rolled up its sleeves to reconstruct hospitals, schools, mosques and roads destroyed by the YPG/PKK. Within the scope of improving the region's social infrastructure, several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) provided food and clothing while roads and buildings were rebuilt. These efforts paid off as hundreds of displaced Syrians started to return to the liberated areas.
The commercial activity at the open customs gates with Türkiye also plays an important role in the development of the region.
