As war stops 13m children going to school in
Middle East, North Africa
What hope is there for the Middle East and North Africa,
where violence continues unabated and 13 million children, the next
generation, are out of school? Who will be the future leaders, doctors, nurses, engineers,
writers, scientists, poets, teachers, artists...?
Surging conflict and political upheaval across the Middle
East and North Africa are preventing more than 13 million children from going
to school, according to a UNICEF report released at the beginning of September.
The report, “Education Under Fire” focuses on the impact of violence on
schoolchildren and education systems in nine countries -- Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and the
State of Palestine --
that have been directly or indirectly impacted by violence.
As the violence gripping Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Libya
continues to deepen, and with no end in sight to other, more enduring conflicts
in Palestine and Sudan, there is every reason to fear that the huge number of
children already out of school across the region will continue to grow.
With more than 13 million children already driven from
classrooms because of conflict, it is no exaggeration to say that the
educational prospects of a generation of children are in the balance.
The forces that are crushing individual lives and futures are
also destroying the prospects for an entire region. Young minds distorted by
hatred and fear will need extraordinary support to contribute fully to the
development of societies built on social progress, tolerance and prosperity,
the report says.
Across the region, children demand -- above all else -- to go
back to school. They dream of a better future for themselves and their
families, and of the day when they can help rebuild their shattered communities
and nations. These are the future teachers, nurses, doctors, architects,
musicians, scientists and technicians of countries like Syria, Iraq, the State
of Palestine, Sudan, Libya and Yemen, and their future leaders too.
Like children anywhere, they want an opportunity to learn,
and acquire the skills they need to fulfill their potential. This constitutes a
clear challenge to the international community, host governments, policy
makers, and all those who want to see the Middle East and North Africa emerge
from its current turmoil.
Attacks on schools and education infrastructure -- sometimes
deliberate -- are one key reason why many children do not attend classes, the
report writes. In Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya alone, nearly 9,000 schools are
out of use because they have been damaged, destroyed, are being used to shelter
displaced civilians or have been taken over by parties to the conflict.
Other factors include the fear that drives thousands of
teachers to abandon their posts, or keeps parents from sending their children
to school because of what might happen to them along the way – or at school
itself.
In Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, more than 700,000 Syrian
refugee children are unable to attend school because the overburdened national
education infrastructure cannot cope with the extra student load.
“The destructive impact of conflict is being felt by children
right across the region,” says Peter Salama, Regional Director for UNICEF in
the Middle East and North Africa. “It’s not just the physical damage being done
to schools, but the despair felt by a generation of schoolchildren who see
their hopes and futures shattered.”
"It's no coincidence in that what we see in terms of our
TV pictures, the tragic pictures of people crossing on boats to Greece and
Italy, very much comes back to the Syrian conflict and (to) the Iraqi conflict
to a lesser extent," Salama says.
Countries hosting refugees are struggling to get children
into schools because their education systems were never created to absorb such
numbers. "Everyone is basically straining at the seams in terms of dealing
with this massive crisis, which is not surprising given that it is the biggest
population movement since World War Two," he notes.
Children out of school can end up working illegally, often
being breadwinners for their family. They are vulnerable to exploitation and
can be more easily recruited into armed groups, Salama adds.
UNICEF's research shows children are increasingly becoming
combatants from a younger age, he added, while students and teachers have been
killed, kidnapped and arrested.
"We're on the verge of losing an entire generation of
children in the Middle East and North Africa. We must step up, otherwise it
will be irreversible and long-term damage we've collectively inflicted upon the
children of this region."
The report highlights a range of initiatives -- including the
use of self-learning and expanded learning spaces -- that help children learn
even in the most desperate of circumstances. But it says the funding such work
receives is not commensurate with the burgeoning needs, despite the fact that
children and parents caught up in conflict overwhelmingly identify education as
their number one priority.
In particular, the No Lost Generation Initiative, launched by
UNICEF and other partners in 2013 to galvanize more international backing for
the education and protection needs of children affected by the Syria crisis
deserves more support, the report says.
In addition, the reports calls on the international
community, host governments, policy makers, the private sector and other
partners to:
- Reduce the number of children out of school through the expansion of informal education services especially for vulnerable children.
- Provide more support to national education systems in conflict-hit countries and host communities to expand learning spaces, recruit and train teachers and provide learning materials
- In countries affected by the Syria crisis, advocate for the recognition and certification of non-formal Education services.
- Prioritize Funding for Education in conflict-hit countries. Funding and investment in education during emergencies remains low. In 2013, less than 2% of emergency aid globally went to education and learning opportunities. UNICEF is seeking around $300 million to fund its emergency education work in the region in 2015.
The full report can be read here.
