EDUCATION FIRST: Teachers in the rebel-held East Ghouta suburbs have not received their salaries since the start of the 2014-2015 school year and are threatening to go on strike, a spokesman for the opposition-affiliated Education Administration's Media Office told Syria Direct Tuesday.

“Foreign institutions and the National Coalition have not cooperated to support the educational process [monetarily], and domestic bodies are too weak to present sufficient aid for education,” said the official, who preferred to remain anonymous.

Educators in the East Ghouta city of Douma have staged protests “in order to pressure supporting bodies to pay their salaries,” most recently on Sunday inside the Education Administration building.

“If we want a civilized, cultured society, we must pay more attention to the educator,” said one teacher during the protest, a video of which circulated on YouTube Monday.

“The Education Administration promised teachers money and never informed them that their work was volunteer,” said another teacher. “We realize that our teaching is jihad, but we also need to feed our kids—either save education or we will stop the schools and exams.”

The Education Administration is loyal to the Syrian Interim Government's Ministry of Education.

-Photo courtesy of Department of Education Outer Damascus