Syria Begins Integration of Gaziantep and Health Sciences Colleges
The Syrian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research began implementation on Wednesday to integrate colleges and students previously affiliated with Gaziantep University and the University of Health Sciences in northern Syria. This initiative is part of a broader ministry plan to bring these institutions under the umbrella of the Syrian higher education system.
Marwan al-Halabi, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, announced through his official channel that the ministry has initiated the necessary procedures to ensure a comprehensive and organized institutional transition. To oversee this process, a specialized committee has been formed at the University of Aleppo, chaired by the university’s president, Mohammed Osama Raadoun. The committee’s mandate includes managing the integration of university facilities and buildings, as well as handling academic staff, administrative personnel, and student academic records. The committee held its inaugural meeting today at the University of Aleppo to commence its operations.
In a related development, the ministry has established a separate ministerial committee in Damascus to monitor the status of students enrolled in the University of Health Sciences branch in the Ra’i region of northern Syria. This committee has already begun its work to facilitate the transfer of these students to Syrian universities, following a directive from the Council of Higher Education, which met last Sunday to establish the executive framework for this transition.
Minister al-Halabi emphasized that these measures are the culmination of a series of meetings aimed at creating a clear structure for the final implementation phase. He stated that the relevant committees will continue their intensive meetings throughout the current week, with official executive instructions regulating the full and final integration process expected to be issued next week.
The ministry reaffirmed that its priority in this process is to safeguard the rights of all involved parties, including students and members of the teaching and administrative bodies, to ensure stability within the educational process. These actions follow the signing of an official memorandum of understanding between the Syrian Ministry of Higher Education and the Turkish Council of Higher Education (YÖK) last Wednesday, which mandates the transfer of these educational branches into the Syrian national system to formally settle their academic and legal status.
Source: Syria Focus Arabic
