Education is a basic right for every child around the world. It is also a safe haven for those who are oppressed. However, for thousands of young Syrians, having had to flee their country with their families, school is a “luxury” that they cannot afford. The statistics are distressing: the percentage of young Syrians who drop out increases with age to reach one student in five at the age of 16-17. This is due to multiple challenges including the lack of public transportation, unaffordable costs, children working instead of studying to contribute to the family income, or a long commute to school. Indeed, some children need to walk for up to three kilometres in order to reach their school. Another major issue is the growing rate of child marriages among girls who are forced to drop out of school and thus give up all hope of a professional future. Early school dropout is also linked to unemployment, social exclusion, poverty and poor health.

With over 11 years since the start of the war in Syria, joint efforts are still ongoing to help solve the prevailing problems and better the education process for the displaced Syrian refugees who face difficulties receiving education among other rights. Solutions are being offered by a variety of stakeholders such as donors and international organisations, including the EU.

Journalists share the experience

Badi’a Al-Sawwan, a Jordanian journalist who took part in the Quadra 2 journalism training, talked to Syrian refugees who took it upon themselves to teach kids how to read and write. She first-handedly witnessed the Syrian refugees’ struggle with education, among other issues, as she lived close to an invisible camp in Al-Mafraq province. And so, she was passionate and devoted to raising such struggles in the media.“People think that refugees struggle with asylum and displacement only, but it is much more complicated than we know. Refugees face so many difficulties in securing their very basic rights that even education, one of the simplest and most important rights, had to be removed from their priorities at times to be able to make a living.” 

Mustafa Al-Dahdouh, originally from Gaza, is another beneficiary. He produced a story about long commutes to school from the remote invisible refugee camps, and how such commutes caused children to dropout. Mustafa says that it was not easy to obtain accurate figures on school children and drop-outs, and so it was a big achievement for him to include numbers in his article. “Generally, I like covering marginalized issues which are very important to the people. It was also not easy to get refugees to talk about their struggles, but I am currently working on covering more such issues in order to give people a voice”, says the journalist.  

Education, a basic right for all

Education is a fundamental right and a basic need for children caught in humanitarian crises. It is crucial to give them a better future, develop their full potential, and equip them with skills and protection to restore their sense of normality and safety.

Children become more self-sufficient and have a stronger voice on issues affecting them. Education is also one of the best tools for investing in peace, stability, and economic growth. Yet it is also one of the most underfunded areas of humanitarian aid: only around 3% of global humanitarian funding is allocated to education. Despite the sustainable development goal of ensuring quality education for every child, there are still 260 million children who do not go to primary or secondary school. Among refugee children, only 77% have been enrolled in primary and 31% in secondary school.

With its policy on education in emergencies and protracted crises, the EU aims at minimising the impact of crises on children’s learning. The EU helps children caught in crises go back and stay in education through various formal and non-formal education pathways. We support teachers with training, coaching and protection actions.

The EU is also increasingly focusing on protecting education from attack and the rollout of the Safe Schools Declaration. Over 65% of EU-funded actions on education in emergencies have integrated protection elements. This ensures safe learning spaces and links, where needed, to specialised child protection services.