Syria
Syrian education ministry committee reviews academic credentials of teachers in northeast Syria’s (Rojava) Hasaka province. Photo: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria’s education ministry said on Tuesday that it is making headway in reviewing the academic and professional credentials of teachers in the Kurdish-majority Hasaka province, as part of broader efforts to “regularize the status of employees” in northeast Syria (Rojava) and implement the January integration agreement between Damascus and the Kurdish-led enclave.
A committee appointed by the ministry is “reviewing the files of teachers from the Hasaka Education Directorate” who have been performing their duties since the establishment of the Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), the Syrian education ministry said in a statement.
“The committee is focusing on reviewing documents, certificates, and employee records to ensure they meet the required standards,” the statement added, noting the Hasaka Education Directorate’s commitment to “providing full logistical and technical support to facilitate the committee’s work and ensuring the vetting is completed accurately and carefully within the specified timelines.”
The ministry further stated that the effort is essential to “regularize the status of employees [in Rojava] and complete the integration process… in what would ensure the highest levels of transparency and administrative fairness in the education sector.”
Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - which operates as the de facto army in Rojava - reached a landmark agreement on January 29, with significant mediation from the United States through its Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, as well as Kurdish political figures from the Kurdistan Region.
The 14-point agreement establishes a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire and calls for the integration of Rojava’s civil and military institutions under Syrian state control. The two sides have since been holding talks to implement the deal, with education emerging as a central issue in the negotiations.
The Syrian government has so far agreed to recognize the legal status of all diplomas and certificates issued by schools and institutes run by the DAANES, as these are being brought into the national accreditation framework.
According to reports circulated by local media in Rojava, more than 20,000 teachers across at least 2,350 schools in areas administered by the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) prior to the January accord are awaiting formal national certification. Additionally, more than 230,000 students are enrolled in these schools for the 2026 - 2027 academic year.
Of note, in addition to Hasaka, the Syrian education ministry’s vetting committee on Monday also began reviewing the files of teachers from the north-central Raqqa province, which was under DAANES administration prior to the January accord.
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