Basic and secondary education certificate exams for the children of Sweida are held in Damascus and its countryside

The Ministry of Education has decided to hold the exams for the basic and secondary education certificates in all its branches for the 2026 session for the children of Suwayda governorate in the governorates of Damascus and Damascus countryside, and the students will be distributed to the exam centers in the two governorates according to the procedures followed.

The Ministry said in a statement published through its official IDs: The decision came out of the duty of the Ministry of Education to preserve the right of students to apply for the General Certificate exams, and in terms of the fact that the exam process requires a safe and fair environment and educational requirements to conduct it.

The General Secretariat refuses to conduct exams within the governorate

  The General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic informed yesterday that the Directorate of Education in Sweida and the Department of Examinations have refused to hold the 2026 certificate exams within the governorate.

The head of the Examinations Department in Sweida, Liqa Ghanem, told local media on Wednesday (May 13th) that the department was "surprised" by the decision not to approve the conduct of the exams inside Sweida, pointing out that the decision was issued by the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic.

Ghanem said that   those in charge of managing the situation in Sweida gave instructions to agree to all the conditions of the Ministry of Education in order to ensure the interest of students, including the entry of a ministerial delegation to supervise the examination process, including the question holders and ministerial representatives, stressing that the local authorities did not object to any of the demands put forward.

According to Ghanem, meetings related to the exam file began on April 26, in coordination with the governor of Sweida Mustafa Bakour, where a delegation from the Ministry of Education visited the small Sur area accompanied by the Syrian Red Crescent, in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Education and a number of concerned directors, and during the meeting, the idea of holding exams in the city of Suwayda was raised.

 Ghanem added that a recent meeting was held on May 11, during which all the conditions put forward by the government were accepted, before the Examinations Department was surprised two days later by the rejection decision issued by the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic.

The Director of Education adheres to his resignation

In conjunction with the state of controversy over the exam file, teacher Safwan Zahir Balan announced his adherence to his apology for taking over the Department of Education in Sweida for the second time, as he had previously apologized to the Ministry of Education on April 6.

In a statement published on his Facebook page, Blanc said that his previous acceptance of the candidacy came "in order to achieve the demands of the educational staff and ensure that students complete their educational path away from political tensions," stressing his refusal to be a party to any division within Sweida.

He added that he will continue his work as a teacher in the province's schools, expressing his hope that the students of the 2025 and 2026 certificate courses will be fair and ensure their right to education.

A number of students fear a repeat of the experience of the 2025 cohort, which faced problems related to the recognition of certificates and their academic future, which increased the state of tension and uncertainty between students and parents.