The Commission has adopted a new policy framework, which aims to increase humanitarian funding for education in emergencies and crises to 10% of its overall humanitarian aid budget as of 2019. The policy also aims to bring children caught up in humanitarian crises back to learning within 3 months.

The new policy framework sets out four key priorities: improving access to learning opportunities for children and young people, providing quality education and training, ensuring that education is protected from attacks, and introducing rapid and innovative education responses.

Today’s decision is a milestone in the Juncker Commission’s commitment to support millions of children whose access to education is being disrupted due to conflict, forced displacement, violence, climate change and disasters. The EU’s largest ever humanitarian programme for education in emergencies worth €84 million is currently the Conditional Cash Transfer for Education programme in Turkey that helps put 290 000 refugee children into school.

Background

Across the world access to education is denied to millions of children by conflict, forced displacement, violence, climate change, and disasters. Syria, Iraq, Yemen, occupied Palestinian territory, Afghanistan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo are among 35 crisis-affected countries where nearly 75 million school-aged children experience disruption to their education. Among refugees, just over half of the children of primary school age attend school, while less than a quarter of the equivalent age group are in secondary school and merely 1% in tertiary education. The EU has become a global leader in education in emergencies since the global average of humanitarian aid to education is less than 3%. The Commission has consistently stepped up funding. 

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Press Release