Why are students protesting in Syria’s al-Suwayda?

ACLED’s Syria analyst,  Muaz Al Abdullah, said: 

“August was the first month when demonstrations in  Syria’s al-Suwayda governorate were solely focused on controversy over the location of exam centers. 

"Students in al-Suwayda were prevented from taking their exams for the second time this year. Along with local residents, armed militias affiliated with the National Guard (a group local to al-Suwayda that is the main armed formation outside government control in the governorate) closed roads on 29 August, preventing students from reaching the exam center, which is located in government-controlled areas in the northern countryside of the governorate. This exam had already been rescheduled after the National Guard prevented students from attending their exams in June, again by blocking the road.

"ACLED data records 21 protests in June. In the most recent disturbances, students and their families held a sit-in in al-Suwayda city, the governorate’s capital, to protest. Intercommunity tensions flared as some families wanted to go to the northern countryside so their children could take the exams, while others were on the other side and joined the National Guard to block the road. Protests had also been held in May following the government’s decision to relocate examination centers to Damascus. 

"Concerns over education have been one of the main mobilizing factors of demonstrations in al-Suwayda in 2026, as education is becoming a collateral victim of the rivalry between the central Syrian government and pro-autonomy factions in the Druze-majority governorate."