ocr: Af free and compulsory system of primary education for all was a priority of the Ba'ath Party when it came to power. Under Assad, co-education for boys and girls began in the cities and spread to rural areas. Higher education is provided by seven universities, notably at Damascus, Aleppo, lishrin and Hims. There are over 130,000 university students. Education ranks second- though by a considerable margin -to defense in government expenditure.
