Increasing the school access in Azaz city, Syria: A GIS-based set covering model

Education is very important for humanity from different points of view. It is a backbone for developing countries. There are some reasons for not receiving education such as being poor or being exposed to armed conflict. Since 2011, Syria faces the ongoing conflict as known which results in millions of out of school children. Thus, in this paper we develop a scientific approach for education planning in Azaz City, Syria. To do so, firstly geographic information of 11 current schools and calculated population of students are entered to a geographic information system (GIS). Then, set covering analysis is applied on current schools such that these schools serve as students don't walk more than 350, 500 and 650 meters. The coverage area for these schools started from 37% to 90% then a group of potential schools' places were suggested. Comparing the supply and demand were performed by checking the capacity of schools then adding suitable capacities. Computational experiments show that this approach can help to make a healthier education planning and it can be a useful tool for end user (students) and policy makers.