(The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Al-Fanar Media).
For decades, Syrian universities evolved within a highly centralised system in which higher education institutions were shaped more by the dominance of the state and its political and administrative priorities than by the needs of the society they were meant to serve.
Within this framework, universities became embedded in an authoritarian structure that dictated their educational and research agendas, gradually eroding their academic autonomy and weakening their role as active institutions within society.
Today, as Syria enters a transitional period and begins reconsidering the structure of its state institutions after years of war, a fundamental question emerges: how can Syrian universities reconnect with society?
Freedom from Political Control
University autonomy extends beyond administrative arrangements or financial management; it also involves safeguarding academic freedom—the ability of scholars and researchers to ask questions and engage with public issues without fear or restriction. Academic freedom is essential both for the advancement of knowledge and for strengthening the university’s contribution to society.
In many political transitions, such as those experienced by Eastern European countries after the collapse of communist regimes, university reform was viewed as part of a broader effort to depoliticise academic institutions and rebuild their scientific and administrative independence. These experiences demonstrated that freeing universities from direct political control was a critical step in restoring their intellectual vitality and their social role.
Universities were once central institutions for training doctors, engineers, teachers, and other professionals. Over time, however, this scientific and educational role weakened as higher education became increasingly centralised and the state’s influence over academic life expanded.
With the outbreak of war in 2011, Syria’s higher education system entered a phase of deep crisis. Parts of the university infrastructure were damaged, the educational process was repeatedly disrupted, and a considerable number of faculty members left the country. Major institutions, including Damascus University and Aleppo University, now face multiple challenges: shortages of academic staff, limited research funding, difficulties in rebuilding the academic environment damaged during the war years, as well as governance problems and the scarcity of resources allocated to scientific research.
The Distraction of Rankings
In this context, recent new reports about Damascus University improving its position in some international university rankings were welcomed in some academic circles as a sign that the institution had managed to sustain a degree of scientific activity despite difficult circumstances. Yet this development also raises a broader debate about the meaning and limits of such rankings.
Global university rankings rely largely on indicators such as the volume of scientific publications and academic reputation, but they do not necessarily reflect a university’s capacity to address the social and economic challenges facing its society.
The preoccupation with university rankings increasingly permeates everyday academic life, where performance indicators sometimes become rigid benchmarks for evaluating professors and researchers. As a result, academics may face mounting pressure to publish a higher number of articles in specific journals. This can steer research toward topics that promise faster publication rather than toward studies addressing societal needs or urgent social questions.
These evaluation criteria can also reshape the nature of academic work itself. In some cases, performance metrics and assessment systems become managerial tools that regulate academic activity within universities, potentially limiting professors’ autonomy in selecting research topics or designing curricula. Over time, some academics may feel that control over their field of inquiry—or even the subjects they teach—is no longer fully in their hands, but increasingly governed by predetermined evaluation frameworks and ranking requirements. This debate became particularly visible in 2023 when Utrecht University, in the Netherlands, withdrew from a global university ranking, arguing that such rankings emphasise quantitative indicators of scientific output while failing to capture the university’s broader social role.
Emphasis on the Civic Mission
In response to such concerns, the concept of the civic university has gained prominence. This idea refers to a university that understands itself as embedded within society and responsible for contributing to the resolution of its problems.
From this perspective, the university’s mission extends beyond teaching and scientific research to include what is often described as the third mission: engaging in social and economic development and generating knowledge that responds to societal needs. Within this framework, the university is not simply a site for producing knowledge, but a social institution that helps interpret, shape, and advance the society of which it is a part.
The Spanish experience offers an example of how an institutional framework can connect universities, scientific research, and society. In Spain, the National Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation (ANECA) is responsible for evaluating the quality of higher education and accrediting academic programmes, while institutions such as the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Centre for Sociological Research (CIS) support scientific research and the production of knowledge about society.
In many Latin American countries, particularly after the end of authoritarian regimes in the 1980s, universities also played an important role in rebuilding the public sphere and generating knowledge about social and political transformations. The experience of Singapore likewise illustrates how higher education reform can be pursued by granting public universities greater administrative and research autonomy while maintaining the state’s role in funding and long-term strategic planning.
How This Might Play Out in Syria
In the Syrian context, the social sciences can play a key role in shaping policies for higher education reform. Rebuilding the university system requires a careful understanding of the academic and social realities within universities themselves, including the structure of curricula, the relationship between students and faculty, and the organisation of university life.
The nature of the educational relationship inside universities may also require reconsideration. Many institutions in the region have developed within a model characterised by a hierarchical professor-student relationship, in which the professor’s role centres on transmitting knowledge while the student’s role is largely confined to receiving it.
As for higher education reform, promoting more interactive forms of university education may be beneficial. Such approaches emphasise academic dialogue, discussion, and collaborative research rather than one-way knowledge transmission. Interactive learning can help foster a more open academic environment and strengthen the university’s role as a space for scientific debate and the exchange of ideas.
Rebuilding the relationship between the university and society also requires restoring trust in the universityas an independent institution dedicated to producing knowledge and serving the public good.
At the same time, the growing number of institutions that rely on foreign languages as the primary medium of instruction may create what resemble “islands of knowledge” somewhat detached from the broader society. This issue is closely related to the question of the language of knowledge itself.
Openness to foreign languages is essential for participating in global scientific debates, yet complete dependence on a foreign language can weaken the circulation and accessibility of knowledge within society. The experiences of countries such as Japan and Germany suggest that it is possible to strike a balance between openness to global science and preserving the role of the national language in knowledge production and dissemination.
A Framework for Reform
As Syria enters a phase of reconstruction in the coming years, it may be useful to approach higher education reform within a broader framework than merely improving universities’ positions in international rankings. Within this perspective, several practical steps can be considered:
First, strengthening university autonomy in both academic and administrative decision-making.
Second, developing new models of university governance that involve educators, students, and researchers in academic decision-making processes.
Third, establishing national programmes to support scientific research and encouraging the formation of research teams dedicated to studying social and economic challenges.
Fourth, creating independent institutions responsible for evaluating the quality of higher education, funding scientific research, producing knowledge about Syrian society, and generating reliable social data, while also ensuring effective channels for disseminating this knowledge to the public.
Fifth, promoting partnerships between universities, civil society organisations, and the economic sector, alongside supporting innovation and entrepreneurship among students and researchers.
An Investment in the Future
The central challenge today is reintegrating universities into society. Reforming universities is therefore inseparable from the broader task of rebuilding the public sphere.
A university is not merely an institution for teaching and research; it is also a space for scholarly debate, the exchange of ideas, and the production of knowledge about social issues. When universities become more independent, open, and engaged with society, they not only advance knowledge but can also serve as important engines of national reconstruction.
Moreover, building an academic environment grounded in academic freedom, dialogue, and openness can play a crucial role in encouraging Syrian scholars abroad to return and contribute to rebuilding university institutions. Ultimately, university reform is not simply a matter of restructuring educational institutions; it is an investment in the future of both knowledge and society.
Basem Mahmud is a Syrian-Spanish sociologist specialising in emotions, forced migration, and post-conflict societies. He is the author of Emotions and Belonging in Forced Migration: Syrian Refugees and Asylum Seekers (Routledge, 2022).
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