Aleppo: Protest Rally in Saadallah Al-Jabiri Square Against Transitional Government Policies

Saadallah Al-Jabiri Square in the city of Aleppo witnessed a protest rally today, Sunday, September 7, 2025, attended by dozens of teachers and employees. The demonstration condemned the policies of the transitional government, which they accused of failing to manage salary disbursement files and guarantee the rights of public sector workers. Protesters raised slogans denouncing the government’s practices, considering that they increase the suffering of Syrians and worsen the already difficult living conditions amid the economic challenges facing the country.

While the participants in the rally expressed their frustration over the delay in salary payments for several months, which has negatively affected their daily lives, especially since many rely on these salaries as their primary source of income to support their families. The protesters demanded the formal employment of unregistered teachers and employees, as well as the issuance of clear decisions from the Ministry of Education to guarantee their professional and financial rights.

According to local sources, this rally comes amid escalating protest movements in the northern and eastern rural areas of Aleppo, where teachers and employees have held similar protests in recent weeks, demanding urgent solutions to the salary crisis and regularization of their employment status. Reports indicate that around 18,000 male and female teachers in northern Syria face an uncertain fate after their salaries were halted for months, with no official clarification from the transitional government regarding the reasons for the delay or plans for resolution.

The protesting teachers stressed that these policies threaten the stability of the educational process in the region, warning of a potential mass withdrawal from the education sector if their demands are not met. In this context, Yasser Al-Fadeel, one of the participating teachers, called for a “fair and inclusive integration of all active teachers without conditions,” noting that ignoring their years of service under difficult circumstances constitutes “a grave injustice against them.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education announced its intention to form a committee to study the situation of contracted teachers, but the lack of immediate solutions has raised concerns about the worsening of the crisis. The protesters demanded the issuance of a presidential decree to remove legal obstacles hindering their formal employment and to ensure the payment of their overdue salaries.

These protests come at a time when the transitional government faces increasing criticism from teachers and employees who describe the situation as “systematic marginalization” and “exclusion” in the process of integrating former educational institutions affiliated with the Interim Syrian Government into the ministry. Teachers fear that the continuation of these policies could lead to the collapse of the educational process in areas that had previously managed to maintain continuity despite difficult living conditions.