📚 Rising campus violence puts future of higher education in Syria at risk 

internal-link" title="📰 Saudi Embassy in Damascus Marks World Food Day; 110 Projects Implemented in Syria">damascus/" class="auto-internal-link">damascus, syria (North Press) – A wave of violent incidents across syrian universities has sparked growing alarm among academics and observers, who warn that 14 years of crisis have deeply infiltrated the country’s academic life. Experts say universities, once considered centers of learning and dialogue, are increasingly turning into arenas for settling personal and political disputes. Last week, the University of Damascus witnessed a rare protest by professors and staff of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities following an assassination attempt against Dean Ali al-Lahham. In fact, armed men reportedly stormed the campus and threw a hand grenade that failed to explode.

Demonstrators carried banners calling for an end to hostilities within universities and the protection of academic personnel, emphasizing that campuses must remain places of learning rather than crisis.    In northern Syria, Muslim al-Yousef, a professor at the “Free University of Aleppo,” survived an assassination attempt in Khan Shaykhun, southern Idlib countryside. Meanwhile, reports emerged of Druze students being targeted amid the ongoing unrest in Suwayda, underscoring how the country’s instability continues to spill into academic institutions. Taysir al-Masri, head of the Accounting Department at the University of Damascus, informed North Press that the proliferation of weapons and the absence of deterrent penalties have encouraged lawlessness. He noted that “the reliance on tribal customs rather than legal frameworks has entrenched chaos and emboldened perpetrators. ” Al-Masri warned that campus disorder “undermines the reputation of universities and the prestige of professors,” leading to a decline in academic standards and international credibility.

Notably, persisted hostilities, he added, will push more qualified professors to emigrate, forcing universities to rely on underqualified replacements. Following the Damascus attack, Minister of Higher Education Marwan al-Halabi expressed “deep regret” and pledged accountability, but no details have been released about the investigation or suspects. Majdi al-Jamous, a professor at the University of Daraa, linked the rise in violence to widespread corruption and worsening economic hardship. He stated that “some students have joined security agencies, giving them a false sense of power and undermining respect for educators.

Moreover, ” Abdurrahman Mohammed, a professor at the University of Hama, warned that unchecked weapons and weak law enforcement pose an existential threat to Syria’s academic system. He called for “independent security units on campuses and strict laws criminalizing all forms of campus violence,” stressing that protecting universities “is not a luxury but an investment in Syria’s future. ” Reporting by Norman al-Abbas Editing by Jwan Shekaki