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Tailored classes ease Syrian kids' transition to Egypt

Supplemental classes and alternative schools are popping up all over Egypt to help smooth the transition of displaced Syrian students.
A Syrian man carries his son during a rally in support of the Syrian people and against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, on December 28, 2012. Syrian warplanes launched air raids in Damascus province after overnight bombardments and clashes across the country, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS        (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images)
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CAIRO — Some Syrian students living in Egypt attend special classes to help them meet the particular challenges they face as refugees in Egyptian schools. The first school for Syrians was inaugurated at the end of 2015 in 6th of October City, a suburb of Cairo where Syrians abound.

These schools do not entirely replace Egyptian schools, but operate in parallel, teaching the same curriculum to Syrian students in the Syrian dialect of Arabic and tailor lessons to remedial needs. These institutions, some called schools and others are known as learning centers, serve all levels from kindergarten to high school. Some of them charge a nominal fee while others are free of charge. There are no statistics available on their number in Egypt, but according to some estimates, there are 12 such schools in 6th of October City alone. These schools employ many Syrians as instructors and other staff.

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