Education For Children Inside Syria

Dear Friend,

In 2020, children continue to bear the brunt of the nearly ten-year conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic, as it remains the largest displacement crisis in the world. Needs across the country remain extensive, with more than 11 million people (5 million children) requiring humanitarian assistance, including 6.2 million people internally displaced (2.5 million children).

Displaced populations and returnees, particularly in North East and North West Syria, are vulnerable to outbreaks of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, due to unsanitary living conditions, overstretched health services and low coverage of routine immunization. More than nine years of conflict have dramatically reduced access to basic social services, while violations against children are believed to be escalating.

Every year since 2013, around one-third of school-age children and youth in Syria have been out of school and a whole generation of children and youth has received inadequate education. Those children who do enroll might not be easily retained due to the quality of the education services provided.

Since March 2020, COVID-19 has posed additional operational challenges for education in Syria. Preventative measures taken by the Government of Syria – including the closure of schools and learning centers, the postponement of formal education, limitations on movement between governorates within Syria and the closing of international borders - had a significant impact on UNICEF’s ability to deliver education activities. In addition, there were many secondary factors that posed challenges: limited access to reliable real-time information in a conflict setting heightened the risk of misinformation and fear related to COVID-19, making the resumption of educational activities all the more difficult. In response, UNICEF has scaled up investment in communication campaigns to improve the quality of information available about COVID-19 prevention measures.

Since the beginning of this program in 2018, UNICEF and partners have reached 324,020 out-of-school children in Syria newly enrolled through the Self-Learning Program and Curriculum B, providing children without access to education with a pathway to learning and opening up a lifetime of possibilities. As a result of your generosity, UNICEF and partners accomplished the following results in the first half of 2020, despite the closure of schools and learning centers due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

• 20,806 out-of-school children (10,191 girls and 10,615 boys) who were enrolled in the SLP received self-learning materials;
• 22,087 out-of-school children (11,417 girls and 10,670 boys) benefitted from stationery and school-in-a-box distribution;
• 18,596 out-of-school children benefitted from rehabilitation of 37 learning spaces and 16 Curriculum B public schools;
• 17,664 out-of-school children (9,283 girls and 8,381 boys)participated in recreational activities to provide psychosocial support;
• 421 education facilitators (125 female, 296 male) were recruited and trained to conduct SLP classes.

In the final year of the program, UNICEF and partners plan to meet the enrollment target of 366,286 out-of-school children and reach children with learning materials, classes and support services, while deepening work with government and other stakeholders to increase access to education in Syria. Now that program infrastructure has been built and partnerships have been solidified, the program will build on momentum gained in the first two-and-a-half years to increase reach and bring children back to learning.

On behalf of our field colleagues throughout Syria and the region, and the thousands of out-of-school children who are benefitting from your support, we thank you.

In Partnership,

Whitney Simon

Dear Friend,

In March 2020, the Syrian Crisis entered its tenth year, as 11.7 million people reportedly remain in need of humanitarian assistance, including 5 million children. 

Throughout the country, 2.1 million children aged 5 to 17 years are out of school and 1.3 million children are at risk of dropping out or not learning.

In 2019, the widespread destruction of vital infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, water stations and bakeries hampered the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance and the return of displaced people, with direct and indirect impacts on education. Between April and October 2019, at least 45 schools were damaged by airstrikes and shelling in northern Hama and southern Idleb governorates, resulting in 400,000 children not able to sit for final exams in Idleb. With the start of the school year in September 2019, the impact of the hostilities on education became more alarming. Half of the schools in Idleb governorate were damaged or destroyed during the fighting or used as shelter for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Areas with an influx of IDPs experienced a shortage of learning space, equipment and teachers, as some 150,000 children were estimated to be among the 400,000 displaced.

To address the ongoing challenges facing out-of-school children in Syria, the Educate a Child program, a partnership between Educate a Child, UNICEF and UNICEF USA, continues to deliver educational services and materials, psychosocial support, recreational activities and improved learning environments to children throughout Syria with limited or no access to school.

During the first two years of the program, UNICEF and partners have reached 310,286 out-of-school children in Syria, providing children without access to education with a pathway to learning and opening up a lifetime of possibilities. During the second half of 2019, UNICEF and partners accomplished the following results:

• 29,375 out-of-school children (14,137 girls and 15,238 boys) received self-learning materials;
• 33,207 out-of-school children (16,033 girls and 17,174 boys) benefitted from stationery and school-in-a-box distribution;
• 19,197 out-of-school children benefitted from rehabilitation of 216 learning spaces
• 33,428 out-of-school children (16,084 girls and 17,344 boys)participated in recreational activities to provide psychosocial support; and
• 909 education facilitators (400 female, 509 male) were recruited and trained to conduct self-learning program classes.

In 2020, despite limited local capacity, ongoing conflict and a deeply complex operating environment, UNICEF is building on strong partnerships with national and international NGOs, the national government and a range of other partners to deliver education services and materials to out-of-school children. In the final year of the program, UNICEF and partners plan to reach additional out-of-school children with learning materials, classes and support services and deepen work with government and other stakeholders to elevate the national discussion on reaching out-of-school children and increase access to education. Your continued support is necessary in enabling UNICEF to continue to support out-of-school children in Syria.

In Partnership,

Whitney Simon