Rebel academics set up university for 'lost generation'

In many ways, Musab Al-Jamal makes for an unassuming rebel, writes Daisy Carrington for CNN. The former law professor from Damascus University has joined other academics to start offering lectures to students in liberated regions inside ravaged Syria and in neighbouring countries.

"The universities in Syria are basically like prisons for students," says Al-Jamal. "They capture or arrest anyone who opposes the regime. On the other hand, universities outside the country often don't accept Syrian students, or the students can't pay the fees or speak the local language."

To some, it may seem as if access to higher education is hardly a priority for the 2.5 million refugees who have fled Syria since the conflict started three years ago. To Al-Jamal and his fellow academics, however, it is a seminal component in one day rebuilding a broken country.
Full report on the CNN site