Underground schools in Aleppo suspended as siege brings terror and death

Underground schools in Aleppo have been suspended because of the聽deadly offensive by the Syrian regime to regain control of the city.

The schools are run by an activist organisation called Kesh Malek, which said seven are currently closed due to heavy fighting.

About 100,000 children are living in terror聽under siege as聽Aleppo suffers a聽heavy bombardment that has left hundreds dead. The Syrian army, backed by Russian air strikes, is trying to encircle it and take back control of rebel-held areas that are home to around 350,000 people.

Kesh Malek国产视频檚 schools in Aleppo are attended by around 1700 students being taught by聽100 teachers.

They learn from an adapted version of the Syrian curriculum that includes maths, science, social science and Islamic religious classes.

Kesh Malek国产视频檚 programme director, Muhammed Farik, said a young Syrian schoolgirl called Iman had died in one air strike. But he said聽they hoped to have the schools open again as soon as possible.

Kesh Malek locates its schools in basements聽where possible, to provide some protection against aerial bombardments.

The name means checkmate, or defeat of the king in chess.聽This refers to the group国产视频檚 ideal of creating a democratic republic in Syria to replace聽President聽Assad国产视频檚 dictatorship.

Kesh Malek began setting up schools in Aleppo in 2011, at first using normal school premises. That changed in April 2014 after a government bombardment on the Ein Jalout school killed 23 children.

Farik said a teacher was injured in the bomb attack that killed Iman and that schools were running out of books and stationary.

He said this week: 国产视频淪chools are temporarily suspended for 10 days since the military campaign restarted last week. It国产视频檚 been 10 days now but this is just temporary unless the situation continues or gets worse.国产视频�

Farik said not all schools are underground and some classes are held in vacant buildings.

He said: 国产视频淲e try to put schools underground as much as possible but only if we are lucky enough to locate a place.聽

国产视频淪ome are on the first and second floors of buildings. Not all are official school buildings. Most official schools have been destroyed. We have some in houses and general buildings. We occupy the ground and first floor if we can国产视频檛 get a basement.国产视频�

It has been difficult to recruit and train teachers, said聽Farik, explaining that most of the teachers started out as volunteers.聽

国产视频淲e have quite a good amount of people with experience 国产视频� some have 10 to 15 years 国产视频� but it is problematic to get teachers for some subjects such as聽English, as most have fled Aleppo,国产视频� he said.聽

国产视频淎lso, we are looking for teachers who can really interact with the children and understand them, and that国产视频檚 not easy.国产视频�

国产视频淎s for training, at the start of every year we used to have training but can国产视频檛 do this now due to the situation. Training was about interactive learning 国产视频� how to run a classroom, child protection and communication skills.聽

国产视频淪ome of our teachers had that training but new teachers have not, due to on-going military actions 国产视频� and we can国产视频檛 get stationary, the basics for any schools, books. We have a big problem with books.国产视频�

Farik is based in Turkey but said he was in contact with Kesh Malek colleagues every day in Aleppo via Whatsapp.

At first Kesh Malek国产视频檚 schools were funded by the activists themselves and their local supporters 国产视频撀燽ut over time foreign donors have offered support including Pax For Peace

The flow of funds is irregular and sometimes teachers go without their salaries.聽Kesh Malek also runs programmes outside Aleppo for women.

Farik said: 国产视频淲e started a community centres project. We have four in western Aleppo countryside. Also, we have women support projects 国产视频� firstly, a girls国产视频� education project where we try to get 100 girls back to schools.聽

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国产视频淢any girls have dropped out of school for different reasons so we are trying to encourage them to go back by either providing transportation for schools. We also provide home learning for those cannot leave their homes and teachers go to their homes.国产视频�

Latest reports say rebels have聽lost all their northern strongholds in east Aleppo as the army gained significant ground in its offensive to recapture the city.

The regime国产视频檚 advance has prompted an exodus of desperate civilians, some fleeing to districts held by the government or Kurdish forces.

Stephen O国产视频橞rien, the United聽Nations国产视频櫬爃umanitarian affairs chief, warned two days ago that Aleppo could become 国产视频渙ne giant graveyard国产视频�. He pleaded with the UN Security Council to聽protect civilians 国产视频渇or the sake of humanity国产视频�.