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Teachers in Aleppo protested Sunday outside the Directorate of Education after a photo of Bashar al-Assad was discovered inside one of its offices, triggering public anger and prompting the directorate to open an investigation.
Article 49 of the new Syrian constitutional declaration criminalizes glorifying the Assad regime and its symbols and considers denying, praising, justifying, or downplaying its crimes offenses punishable by law.
This photo was discovered while several teachers staged a protest outside the Directorate of Education in the city, calling for speeding up their permanent appointments, reinstating dismissed teachers with permanent contracts and improving salaries.
However, the protest turned into an angry demonstration when one of the protesters photographed a picture of Assad inside one of the directorate’s offices, which angered those present and pushed them to demand accountability for the person responsible for the act.
The incident quickly moved from the street to social media platforms, where users reacted widely.
Users wrote that “pictures of Bashar al-Assad are still hanging inside employees’ rooms at the Directorate of Education in Aleppo,” considering it a blatant violation of the “Criminalizing Assadism Law” and evidence of corruption, Baathist thinking, and dormant cells, and calling for accountability to begin with the minister of education.
Some called for the investigation to start with the minister of education and his deputies, reaching all officials in the directorate.
In contrast, some believed the matter reflected negligence, saying that supporters of the former regime no longer put Assad’s picture even on their phones, so how could it be left inside a government office?
They praised the teachers, who were about to stage a labor protest, but seeing the picture pushed them to chant again against the former regime and all those cooperating with it.
After widespread controversy, the Directorate of Education in Aleppo issued a statement on its Facebook page affirming its commitment to the values of the revolution and the removal of all symbols associated with the defunct regime.
In a statement, the Aleppo Directorate of Education clarified that it had opened an immediate investigation into the incident.
The directorate said initial follow-up revealed that an employee was reorganizing office cabinets amid a crowd of visitors and did not notice an old photo that had been stuck for years to the back of one of the cabinets.
The photo had been hidden behind a curtain before it appeared through the window.
The directorate stressed that the image does not represent any official position, noting that all symbols of the former regime had been removed from educational and administrative offices since the city’s liberation.
It reaffirmed its commitment to providing a work environment free of “any inappropriate displays,” along with close oversight of all departments in accordance with regulations.
The directorate also reiterated its commitment to transparency and to taking the necessary measures to prevent similar incidents, ensuring an educational and administrative environment consistent with professional values.
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