Damascus, June 4 (SANA) Local authorities in Sweida Governorate said armed groups affiliated with Hikmat al-Hijri prevented students from Sweida province from reaching examination centers for this year’s public certificate examinations, despite government measures to facilitate their transportation and ensure their safe arrival.
According to local authorities, students were prevented from leaving the province and from reaching buses designated to transport them to alternative examination centers in Damascus and Damascus countryside.
The Sweida Governorate took a series of measures to ensure that students would not be deprived of their right to sit for examinations, including providing free transportation, security escorts and accommodation services.
Sweida Governor Mustafa al-Bakkour told SANA that authorities had coordinated with the Ministry of Interior and security officials in Sweida and Damascus countryside to establish special arrangements for student transportation. These included fixed and mobile patrols along the route and security escorts for buses carrying students to examination centers.
Al-Bakkour said the support also included accommodation and basic services for students choosing to remain in Damascus and its countryside during the examination period. He added that several international organizations had expressed readiness to assist with transportation and essential services related to accommodation and food.
Local sources told SANA that a number of students were unable to reach transportation points after road closures and restrictions imposed by armed groups blocked access to buses prepared to take them to examination centers.
Some teachers assigned to supervise examinations were prevented from reaching their destinations after being stopped by armed groups at checkpoints in Shahba and Umm al-Zaytoun. Dozens of educators were forced to return despite holding official assignments issued by educational authorities.
Qutaiba Azzam, director of media relations in Sweida, rejected reports of security threats along the Sweida-Damascus highway, saying traffic remained normal and that no security concerns were preventing students from reaching examination centers.
He said most buses designated for student transportation arrived at collection points without passengers after students were allegedly prevented from boarding and sent back to the province.
Azzam also said misinformation regarding security conditions on the road had contributed to concerns among some families and students.
The developments prompted criticism from residents and community figures in Sweida of the armed groups’ actions, with many stressing that access to education and the right to sit for examinations should remain protected and separate from political or security disputes.
The Ministry of Education said it continued operating 591 schools in Sweida during the academic year and covered the salaries of 12,689 teachers, educators and school employees.
R.D/ABD
