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Online learning attempts amid battles and power cuts in Syria

Like in much of the world, people seeking education in Syria are taking classes online after the country’s various regions sent pupils home hoping to stem the COVID-19 pandemic.

But distance learning is a big challenge in a country battered by nine years of war, where fighting has displaced millions and the electricity supply is sporadic at best. Most students don’t have constant access to the internet, especially during long power cuts.

Across the Idlib region, more than half of the 1,062 schools are now damaged, destroyed or in areas too dangerous for children to reach, according to Save the Children.

Displaced from their homes in the rounds of violence, hundreds of thousands of children live in overcrowded camps or temporary shelters, with little to no water or electricity.

In one of these camps, in the village of Kafr Yahmoul, Ahmed Rateb has just finished recording a maths class in a tent.

“We’re trying as much as possible not to deprive the kids of an education,” says the 29-year-old teacher, who sends along his tutorials on Telegram and WhatsApp.

But some are now unable to follow for lack of a smart screen as well as long blackouts inside the camp, he admits.