⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The prolonged war in Syria has significantly worsened the educational conditions for the country's schoolchildren, with thousands of primary schools damaged over the last decade.

According to the latest data from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), about 6.9 million children in Syria need emergency education services.

At a primary school in Bayad Village in Hama Province, 43 students have to cram into a small classroom designed for only 20. The Syrian civil war, which broke out in 2011, has led to the damage of over 7,000 primary schools across the country, leading to severe overcrowding at schools like this that have remained relatively intact.

The seven-year-old Samma finds it hard to get to school on time because of transportation challenges caused by fuel shortages.

"I have to get up very early to catch the minibus to school. Sometimes, I have to wait on the street for over an hour. If the minibus is full, I have no choice but to return home," said the little girl.

Furthermore, the school's gymnastics and volleyball courses have been suspended because of the war. This interruption has prevented Lama, who is passionate about gymnastics, from continuing her training and pursuing her dream.


"I want to do well not just in my country, but also to compete internationally. However, limited finances, expensive transportation, and our distant location prevent me from showcasing my potential in gymnastics," said Lama.

Another student, George, who lost his mother in a terrorist shooting in 2012, said that now normal life is like a thing of the past.

"When I think about what happened to us, to my mom, I always cry and feel so sad. It's like we won't be able to live a normal life like before. Now, I am studying medicine. I want to major in medicine because through it, I can help people and prevent them from losing their family or those close to them. I can heal people, so they don't have to go through what I went through. I can help them survive,” said George.

Now, the school has stopped classes for older students to create more space for younger ones. However, it still has to refuse admission to 200 young students this year due to limited educational resources.

"The school's building is very old and run-down, making it unsafe for the students, especially after the earthquake struck and caused cracks in the building. Now, the school is under high pressure as the number of students grow. The burden on the school increases, but the number of classrooms is limited. We hope to have five additional classrooms," said Tony, the head of Bayad Village.

So far, about 2.4 million children in Syria are out of school, and another 1.6 million children are at risk of dropping out, according to the UNICEF.

SHOTLIST:
Bayad Village, Hama Province, Syria - Recent
1. Various of local students;
2. Various of local student Samma in classroom;
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Samma, local student (starting with shot 2/partailly overlaid with shot 4):
"I have to get up very early to catch the minibus to school. Sometimes, I have to wait on the street for over an hour. If the minibus is full, I have no choice but to return home.";
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
4. Samma, schoolchildren sitting in classroom;
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
5. Various of students playing volleyball on playground;
6. Local student Lama practicing gymnastics in corridor of school building;
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Lama, local student (partially overlaid with shot 8/ending with shot 9):
"I want to do well not just in my country, but also to compete internationally. However, limited finances, expensive transportation, and our distant location prevent me from showcasing my potential in gymnastics." ;
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
8. Various of Lama practicing gymnastics;
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
9. Lama practicing gymnastics;
10. Various of local student George, Chinese reporter, students ;
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Lama, local student (starting with shot 10/partailly overlaid with shot 12):
"When I think about what happened to us, to my mom, I always cry and feel so sad. It's like we won't be able to live a normal life like before. Now, I am studying medicine. I want to major in medicine because through it, I can help people and prevent them from losing their family or those close to them. I can heal people, so they don't have to go through what I went through. I can help them survive.”;
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
12. George being interviewed;
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
13. Various of students in classroom;
14. Head of Bayad Village Tony being interviewed;
15. School building;
16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tony, Head of Bayad Village (starting with shots 14-15/ending with shots 17-18):
"The school's building is very old and run-down, making it unsafe for the students, especially after the earthquake struck and caused cracks in the building. Now, the school is under high pressure as the number of students grow. The burden on the school increases, but the number of classrooms is limited. We hope to have five additional classrooms.";
17. Various of interior of school building, wall pictures, picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on wall;
18. School building, basketball stand;
19. Village view, plants;
20. Various of schoolchildren.

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