Syrian textbooks reviewed by Verify-Sy and Agence France-Presse show removed lessons on citizenship and altered images of women and artworks, documenting how curriculum changes affect what pupils encounter in class. Verify-Sy, a Syrian fact-checking platform, said it compared older digital books with ministry-approved print and digital editions it described as distributed for the 2026–27 school year. AFP separately checked electronic textbooks on official government websites.
Verify-Sy reported that a reissued sixth-grade Social Studies book, first published for 2012–13, omits lessons on local administration, political life, citizenship, media and democratic participation, as well as material linked to the former government. It also documented images of women and children being removed or altered, headscarves added to some female figures, and statues or artworks removed, covered or replaced. In one first-grade illustration, a female doctor appears with a headscarf in one version and without it in another, the platform said. AFP confirmed that an image of the Mona Lisa was removed from a seventh-grade history book and images of ancient Syrian statues from a third-grade social studies book. AFP also reported that images showing people dancing were removed from sixth-grade social-affairs textbooks.
The Ministry of Education said Oct. 26 that changes since the previous government fell amounted to one amendment in 2025, announced and published in January. The ministry said the amendment removed symbols and ideological content associated with the former government and corrected related material. It said curriculum work should reflect Syria’s diversity and encourage citizenship, belonging and respect. Its statement did not address the specific textbook images and lessons documented by Verify-Sy.
A ministry order dated July 7, 2025, adopted the 2024–25 curriculum for the next school year after removing material related to former-government symbols. The order listed revised 2014 editions for social studies in grades four to six, Islamic education, history and geography, while retaining the earlier removal of National Education. In August, the ministry said the 2025–26 “Damascus curriculum” would be used throughout Syria in 2026–27, an effort it said would standardize course content after different regions had used separate curricula. Ahram Online captioned the newer editions in comparisons as 2025–26, while Verify-Sy described its copies as distributed for 2026–27.
Critics quoted by The New Arab argued that fewer images of women and omitted civic lessons could limit pupils’ exposure to social diversity and civic rights. Ismat Ramadan, director of the National Centre for Curriculum Development, told the outlet that the absence of an illustration alone does not establish whether related information remains in a book. The ministry said it had completed national curriculum standards and would introduce new materials gradually, but gave no timetable.
