Teachers in Suwayda governorate, southern Syria, working as substitute teachers and hourly-paid staff outside the formal staffing structure, decided on Wednesday, April 1, to launch an open-ended strike starting Thursday over delays in receiving their financial dues.
According to Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Suwayda, the decision came after a report was issued by the Suwayda governorate office stating that approvals had been obtained to disburse salaries. However, when teachers went to the Directorate of Education, they were surprised to learn that the approval covered only dues from the previous academic year, without including payments for the current one.
The teachers said the strike would continue until all their financial dues for the period from September 2025 through last March are fully paid. They also demanded the appointment of an official representative to follow up on the administrative and financial procedures, in a way that guarantees transparency in the payment process.
They stressed that their case is purely about their professional rights and has no political dimension, adding that their demands are professional and legal and concern their basic rights.
Uncertainty in the education sector
The education sector in Suwayda is facing a state of uncertainty, as it remains unclear whether the Directorate of Education is still in contact with the ministry, or whether its relationship is now limited to the “Higher Legal Committee,” which manages affairs in areas under the control of the “National Guard.”
For his part, Suwayda governor, appointed by the Syrian government, Mustafa al-Bakour, held a meeting today with a delegation from the Ministry of Education to discuss the state of the educational process in the governorate.
The meeting reviewed the course of examinations and the conditions of educational centers, in addition to the main challenges facing the education sector in the governorate.
The governorate’s press office did not mention any discussion related to the situation of teachers in the province.
The educational process in Suwayda has also gone through several crises, some of them related to teachers, who, in several protests, called for being kept out of the ongoing conflict and for their issue not to be politicized.
Students, especially those in ninth grade and in the secondary school certificate track, have also called for being kept out of the conflict so that their future is not jeopardized.
Since July 2025
Despite the rupture declared by several institutions inside Suwayda with the Syrian government, employees are still receiving their salaries through the post office in al-Sawara al-Kubra town, where the government maintains control.
The Suwayda crisis reached its peak in July 2025, when the Syrian army tried to enter the city, claiming it was seeking to contain clashes that had broken out between the Druze community, which forms the majority in the governorate, and local Bedouin residents.
The government intervention was accompanied by violence against the city’s residents from the Druze sect, which led to the outbreak of wider clashes and drew Israel into the crisis. Israel has repeatedly signaled that it seeks to protect the Druze in Syria, claiming family ties, and the situation later escalated into strikes on the capital, Damascus, as well as attacks targeting army personnel who had entered the city center.
The Israeli strikes forced Syrian government forces to withdraw from Suwayda city and redeploy in the western countryside, where they took control of more than 30 villages.
However, the withdrawal did not end the crisis. Instead, it grew more complicated after local factions committed violations against Bedouin residents in acts of retaliation, prompting tribal calls to mobilize in support of the Bedouin tribes of Suwayda. As a result, clashes and abuses continued on both sides.
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