Syria - Constitutional & Legal Foundations

In 1967, Syria signed the Arab Cultural Unity Agreement with Jordan and Egypt establishing a uniform three-level education system and determining curricular examination procedures and teacher-training requirements for each of the levels. Since then all Syrian schools, colleges, and universities have been under close government supervision, overseen by the Ministry of Education.

The Syrian Arab Republic's constitution was adopted on March 13, 1973. The Ba'ath Party's emphasis on building a national identity is evident in the third part of the constitution: Educational and Cultural Principles. According to Article 21 of that section, Syria's educational and cultural system "aims at creating a socialist nationalist Arab generation which is scientifically minded and attached to its history and land, proud of its heritage, and filled with the spirit of struggle to achieve its nation's objectives of unity, freedom, and socialism, and to serve humanity and its progress." A portion of Article 23 underscores this commitment and responsibility: "The nationalist socialist education is the basis for building the unified socialist Arab society. It seeks to strengthen moral values, to achieve the higher ideals of the Arab nation, to develop the society, and to serve the causes of humanity. The state undertakes to encourage and to protect this education."

The right to an education is guaranteed in Article 37, which states that elementary education is compulsory and free. This article also notes that the state "undertakes to extend compulsory education to other levels and to supervise and guide education in a manner consistent with the requirements of society and of production." Women, in Article 45, are guaranteed "all opportunities enabling them to fully and effectively participate in the political, social, cultural, and economic life. The state removes the restrictions that prevent women's development and participation in building the socialist Arab society."