Darayya schools see stark disparity in projectors, labs and libraries

Schools in Darayya, Rural Damascus, are facing a pronounced shortage and uneven distribution of educational aids during the 2025–2026 school year, field monitoring and testimonies collected by Enab Baladi show. While some schools — notably al-Ghouta al-Gharbiya Secondary School — have a laboratory, projector, screen and a limited library thanks to support from a development organization, many others rely on rudimentary, hand-drawn teaching boards or lack visual aids and labs entirely. Students, parents and principals told Enab Baladi that the absence of practical and visual tools hampers understanding of subjects that require demonstration, particularly at the middle and secondary levels; conversely, institutes such as al-Saada report well-equipped classrooms that aid exam preparation and performance.

Officials attribute the gaps to limited resources and unsuitable school facilities, and noted that distribution efforts have only partially closed needs. The Western Ghouta Educational Complex director said laptops and projectors were distributed in cooperation with the Ghirass Development Foundation, but newly opened schools have not yet received equipment and a single device cannot substitute for the laboratories, halls and supporting materials required for a modern learning environment. The result is a patchwork of modest improvements amid widespread basic infrastructure shortfalls across Darayya’s public schools, with persistent differences between better-supported schools and those with minimal tools, as reported by Enab Baladi