Syria Opens Advanced Technology Schools Teaching AI and Cybersecurity in Three Cities

The schools in Damascus, Homs and Aleppo start a new track, created by presidential decree, that runs from 10th grade through to engineering degrees.

By Nakoda News Desk

5 hours ago·1 min read

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Syria's new advanced technology schools in Damascus, Homs and Aleppo began classes for the 2026 academic year.Photo: Arab News

Syria has opened specialised secondary schools in Damascus, Homs and Aleppo to teach artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, automation and robotics. They are the first stage of a new state education pathway meant to supply workers for the digital and industrial sectors.

The National Advanced Technology Pathway was set up by a decree from President Ahmad Al-Sharaa on Saturday. Arab News reported that it is supervised by the ministries of education and of higher education and scientific research. Students get in through a national entrance examination. The Education Ministry held the first admission test on October 20, with 1,024 students sitting it for 300 places.

The programme adds a fourth secondary track to Syria's existing general science, literary and vocational streams, according to Hassan Abdul Latif, who oversees education on the Homs Executive Office. It also gives students a route from 10th grade into applied university study. Education Minister Mohammad Abdul Rahman Turko and Higher Education Minister Marwan Al-Halabi opened the Damascus school. Turko said the schools have specialised laboratories and computers and will use interactive digital curricula that mix classroom teaching with practical training.

Alongside AI and cybersecurity, the curriculum covers industrial automation, robotics and nanotechnology, with foundations in electricity, electronics, computer science, physics and mathematics. The Homs school has taken 100 students across four classes. Its laboratories cover electronic and logic circuits, cybersecurity and computer systems.

According to the Aleppo school's director, Hazem Mahmoud, 10th-grade students will first take common subjects across the industrial and digital tracks. They will be assigned to a specialised track in their second year based on grades and preference. Aleppo's provincial education director, Ahmad Obeid, said the distance between the school, in the Maysaloun neighbourhood, and some students' homes is a problem, and that officials are looking at options including accommodation.

Graduates are meant to continue at a college of advanced technology that is being set up at the University of Aleppo. There, three years of study would lead to a degree in advanced technology, and a fourth year to an engineering degree in the field.