The Syriac Orthodox Church of al-Jazira and the Euphrates has firmly rejected efforts by the SDF – dominated by the U.S.-backed YPG – to impose its curriculum on Christian schools in Syria’s al-Jazira region, insisting that they will follow only the official curriculum from the Syrian Ministry of Education.
Bishop Mor Maurice Amsih told the Syrian news agency SANA that schools belonging to various Christian communities, totaling around 35, serve students from all components of Syrian society.
He emphasized that “adherence to the nationally approved curriculum in Damascus is a guarantee for the students' future and for the continued legal licensing of the schools."
Bishop Amsih noted that dialogue with the YPG-led SDF terrorist group lasted more than a month, during which it tried to impose only two options on the diocese’s schools, which number 20, either to adopt its own curriculum or the UNICEF curriculum, without any authorization or approval from the Education Ministry in Damascus. He added that "school administrations completely reject this proposal."
The bishop pointed out that some of the diocese's schools, some of which date back more than a century, follow the official Syrian certificates for preparatory and secondary levels.
He explained that "imposing unrecognized curricula threatens the students' future and jeopardizes the schools' legal licenses, especially since their students come from various communities: Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians, Yazidis and others."
The bishop revealed that the SDF expelled students from schools after the diocese refused to adopt their curricula, resulting in a halt to the educational process and leaving only administrative work ongoing in the schools.
He confirmed that “resumption of teaching is possible only if the unified Syrian curriculum is adopted with official authorization from the Education Ministry."
The Diocese of al-Jazira and the Euphrates for the Syriac Orthodox Church "remains committed to the national path that preserves the unity of Syrian society and safeguards the future of its generations," the bishop said, emphasizing that its rejection of any unrecognized curricula "stems from a concern for the national and educational interest of all children in the region, without exception."
The diocese, affiliated with the Evangelical Christian Union Church, had previously sent letters to the SDF and to Ferhat Abdi Şahin, code-named "Mazloum Kobani," the ringleader of the YPG terrorist group in Syria, calling for the cancelation of the decision, imposing educational curricula on schools under their control, warning of "severe consequences" for the future of tens of thousands of students in the region.
The group had already closed all private schools following the Syrian curricula in northeastern Syria after raiding several of them and expelling students and the teaching staff.
Moreover, the SDF continues to carry out periodic compulsory recruitment campaigns targeting students in areas under its control, the most recent in the cities of Raqqa and Tabqa, affecting dozens of students.
At the beginning of last September, the Education Authority of the SDF issued a decision banning the teaching of the Syrian Education Ministry curricula in areas under its control, affecting more than 100 public, private and church schools in Hassakeh, Raqqa and Deir el-Zour.
In Qamishli, a meeting between church school officials and SDF leaders failed to reach an agreement, resulting in a one-week delay in reopening the schools.
