Sweida students unable to progress as Druze leaders and Damascus remain at odds

RightYoung people in Syria's Sweida province are unable to progress through school and university because of a deepening rift between the post-Assad Islamist government and the Israel-aligned Druze leaders of the last area outside central control, Reuters reported on 2 October. 1 2 RightOnly 150 of 13,700 school students in Sweida took the exams they need to move on to high school or university this year, according to government figures shared on Syria's state news agency; the rest, along with university students, remain in limbo. 1 2 RightSweida, in the southwest bordering Jordan, is home to many of Syria's estimated 700,000 Druze. Most of it is controlled by forces loyal to Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, a Druze cleric who said in an August video that his community is 'part and parcel of the state of Israel'. 1

RightThe trauma dates to last year, when hundreds of Druze were killed in sectarian violence by government-linked forces and Israel struck Syria's military, saying it was defending the minority. Authorities first cancelled Sweida's high school and university entry exams that year; government troops withdrew from most of the province and Hajari barred them from returning, hardened his stance against integration and founded an armed faction called the National Guard. 1 RightPresident Ahmed al-Sharaa, who overthrew Bashar al-Assad in 2024 and aims to restore Syria's relations with the West, has vowed to reunite Syrian territory under a single leadership. Many Druze do not trust his assurances that he will protect their rights, citing his earlier links with al Qaeda and last year's killings. 1 2 RightThis year's exams were disrupted again, with the government and Druze factions trading blame. In spring Damascus offered to send proctors into Sweida, but some Druze saw this as an attempt to redeploy government forces. Qutaiba Azzam, the government's media relations director for Sweida province, said local factions threatened the proctors; Reuters could not verify this. 1

RightIn August Damascus proposed that students from Hajari-held areas sit exams in a government-held northern part of the province, which alarmed students and parents. Some Druze fear Hajari's forces would label students who travel there as traitors. Government-appointed provincial official Tarek Adwan said armed factions in Sweida city attacked buses meant to carry students to exams; Reuters could not verify this. 2 1 RightParents and students describe fear. Fahed Abu Saad, whose son and daughter missed their final exams, said the fear is justified given incidents barely a year ago, and noted the education ministry fears sending envoys to Sweida while Druze families are expected to send children north. Maram Abu Hamra, 20, has been back in Sweida for over a year, too afraid to return to her architecture studies in Aleppo. 1 RightHajari's office did not reply to repeated requests for comment, and Syria's education ministry declined to comment. 1

RightHajari's areas are now the only ones outside government control, after Kurdish authorities in the northeast began integrating earlier this year following a government offensive, though Kurds are seeking to preserve mother-tongue schooling. Syria, Jordan and the United States agreed last year on a seven-step roadmap to resolve the Sweida dispute, but the United Nations said in June it had made 'no progress'. 1