For the past seven weeks Diyaa’s 20-minute journey to school has been taking two hours. If he’s lucky, he hitchhikes part of the way, the rest he has to go on foot.

Recent local restrictions on transporting students to schools teaching the national accredited curriculum in north-eastern Syria’s Hassakeh and Qamishli mean that 15-year-old Diyaa, and thousands of other students, must either go through a long - and sometimes dangerous - journey to school or stop going to a school of their choosing.

“I am wasting a lot of time on the road going to school and coming back. Many times, my friends and I arrive late to school or home because we can’t find transportation,” says Diyaa. “The cost of transportation, when we find it, has also become very high.”

Diyaa’s journey to school and continuing his education, has not been easy. He was displaced twice in one year seeking safety when the fighting got close to home and the school in his village was destroyed during the 7-year conflict in Syria.