Education
The first pillar of NLG aims to ensure that the children and youth affected by the Syria and Iraq crises have access to certified quality education
After 8 years of conflict, Syrian children, both inside Syria and in refugee host countries, along with the children in host communities, still face major constraints in accessing education due to the protracted conflict, policy barriers, and a lack of resources.
Syria
There are 1.75 million children (5-17 years old) out of school and 1.35 million at risk of dropping out. Schools have been destroyed, are occupied, or damaged. More than half of teachers and education personnel have left the education system.
Refugee hosting countries
In spite of the generosity of host countries which opened their public schools to refugees, 43% of the 1.7 million school age Syrian refugee children are out-of-school, with some 2.5 million Syrian refugee children in neighboring countries overall. From 2016 to 2017 the percentage of out-of-school children has increased from 34 per cent to 43 per cent, this is partially due to an increase in the absolute number of Syrian refugee school-aged children, and partially due to a reduction in enrollment in non-formal education.
Of the 57 per cent of Syrian school aged children and youth (5-17 years) who were enrolled, 54 per cent were in formal education and 3 per cent in non-formal education. There has been an increase in the number of children enrolled in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. However enrolnment in non-formal education programmes has declined.
Iraq
Nearly half of the population of internally displaced school-aged children—some 335,000 children—are out of school. In 2017 alone, more than 150 schools were damaged or destroyed.
Strategy
- Objective: Children and youth have access to certified quality education
- Reduction in the number of out-of-school children
- Increased access to technical and vocational training for youth
- Enhanced capacity of education personnel
- Increased life-skills and citizenship education
- Strengthened national education systems
2018 Targets
Syria
- 450,000 children (5-17 years) will be enrolled in non-formal education
- 17,000 classrooms established, expanded or rehabilitated
- 1,200,000 children (3-17 years) will receive school supplies
- 80,000 teachers and education personnel will be trained
Refugee hosting countries in the region
- 145, 500 children (3-5 years) will be enrolled in Early Childhood Care and Education and pre-primary education
- 1,558,500 children (5-17 years) will be enrolled in formal general education
- 181,100 children (5-17 years) will be enrolled in non-formal education
- 12,300 youth (15-17 years) will be enrolled in Technical and Vocational Education and Training
Iraq1
- 500,000 children inside Iraq will be reached by No Lost Generation partners with education opportunities
Public education systems need to be open to Syrian refugee children and other vulnerable children and further investments in quality and inclusive learning are needed. Resources for non-formal education as an interim measure or as alternative pathways to formal education are essential to bridge the gap. Funding for education needs to be matched with strengthening of child protection systems and livelihoods opportunities, otherwise there will always be a core group of children who will not be able to access learning.
2017 Achievements*
Syria
- 175,987 children (5-17 years) were enrolled in non-formal education inside Syria
- 12,809 classrooms were constructed, established or rehabilitated
- 1,354,170 children (5-17 years) received school supplies
- 57,314 youth (15-17 years) benefited from informal vocational training
- 24,664 teachers and education personnel received training
Refugee Hosting Countries
- 1,064,225 targeted children (5-17) enrolled in formal education (primary or secondary)
- 2,443 educational facilities constructed, renovated or rehabilitated
Iraq
- 1,112,730 learners (46% females) have been provided with learning materials.
- 6,807 (58% females) teachers and other Education officials have been trained
- To-date 6,440 classrooms have been rehabilitated. These have so far accommodated 384,374 children (44% females)
- 155,254 children (48% females), have been reached with psychosocial support services in learning spaces
NLG Education technical focal point menaedu@unicef.org
1 Targets reflect only Humanitarian Response Plan, excluding Resilience and Recovery Program
* All programming contributing to No Lost Generation goals in the six countries covered by the initiative is considered No Lost Generation programming. Targets and achievements reported on the NLG website and in NLG publications do not reflect agency or donor specific results, but rather the sector-wide achievements of operational organizations responding to the Syria and Iraq crises, as reported under the Syria and Iraq Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs) and the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP).