Syrian schools resumed classes on December 15 for the first time since opposition forces ousted President Bashar al-Assad, Al Watan newspaper reported.

Students returned to largely undamaged facilities in Damascus and other cities where educational administrators oversaw the raising of the new Syrian flag at several hundred schools.

"Resumption of school work in the city of Hama after its liberation from the criminal regime," Al-Sham network reported on December 15.

"Everything is good. We are fully equipped. We worked for several days to ensure the students' safe return," Nasser Irish RTE reported.

The move to reopen is seen as part of the so-called "Salvation Government," led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, trying to restore the country to normal functioning. This includes asking all government workers to return to their desks. 

Throughout the civil war, Syrian children have faced severe challenges, including exposure to violence, displacement and deprivation of basic needs.

A 2023 report by the United Nations highlighted that children continued to suffer from the long-term consequences of more than eleven years of conflict, with an increase in grave violations compared to previous periods.

Student Salah al-Din Diab expressed optimism about the changes: "I used to walk in the street scared that I would get drafted to military service. I used to be afraid when I reach a checkpoint," he said.

HTS-led forces have liberated thousands of prisoners from facilities notorious for torture and inhumane conditions. Among those freed are women and children who had been detained under the Assad regime.

Following the release of the prisoners, reports from facilities like the Sednaya prison, known as the "human slaughterhouse," revealed the extent of the atrocities committed against detainees, including minors, many of who were jailed alongside their mothers.