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majority of refugees are women and, especially, children; of the 200,000 refugees in Turkish camps, about 60% are children.

t was left to him to find tents, wooden flooring, carpets and paving bricks, desks, chairs, drawing boards, teaching aids and, of course, textbooks

urkish Red Crescent

acquired through AFAD channels a

egging

he result

ten large tents with floors

drawing boards

electricity

computer projectors.

limate control consisted of large fans

he pre-school director in Islahiye Camp used empty office and storage space in the warehouse to house five rooms full of loud young children

preschools enjoyed the largest proportion of age-group participation.

camp schools are administered by Turks

curricula are not recognised or sanctioned by the Turkish education authorities, and so licenced Turkish teachers cannot be assigned to them.

amp education directors rely heavily on volunteers from among the refugees themselves

time and instruction with the children is often inconsistent

not be able to teach in Arabic

There is little incentive for parents to commit their children to learning a new language

Closely related to the issue of language is the curriculum

eenage students in the camps generally do not have access to the secondary schooling

Indeed, one source of tension between Syrian parents and the Turkish authorities has been the Syrian demand for special classes for advanced students whose preparations for university entrance exams were interrupted by the war.

Syrian schools have opened outside of the camps with funding from the local government,

using the Syrian curriculum and books salvaged from Syrian schools and reproduced

Gaziantep

namely Syrian demands for the separation of the sexes in classrooms

Syrian parents also tend to insist that their daughters wear headscarves (hijab) in public and in schools, while it is illegal for Turkish teenage girls to cover their hair at school.

Tensions over the separation of the sexes, curriculum and language of instruction are compounded by the politics of Syrians’ refugee status

y contrast, the Turkish government chose not to officially recognise the Syrians as refugees as defined by UNHCR, and did not ask UNHCR to register the newcomers as refugees.

officially designate Syrians as refugees would limit Turkey’s involvement in the Syrian civil war,

Turkey has allowed arms and non-lethal aid through its territory to supply the Free Syrian Army

here are also concerns that Syrians, desperate for income, take jobs at lower wages than Turks

Even guests can outstay their welcome, and with no end in sight to the civil war and no prospect of a return of Syrians to Syria, Turks are beginning to question how long they can sustain their assistance. I

une 2013 AFAD began accepting offers of financial and other aid from outside agencies, including UNHCR and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The schools developed in Syrian refugee camps in Turkey provide valuable models for establishing schools for rapidly growing refugee populations.

The next critical challenge for Syrian education in Turkey is what to do with the growing number of Syrian teenagers who need to finish their high-school studies at accredited schools in order to compete for places at universities in Turkey or elsewhere.

t is absolutely shameful that the obligation to protect schools is not being respected in this conflict

Syrian refugee children in neighbouring countries are facing disturbing rates of abuse, bullying, corporal punishment and marginalization

p to half of children surveyed by the agency in Syria reported they were 'rarely' or 'never' able to concentrate in class

Syrian children are dropping out of school by the day, and the international community has to step up its response to ensure that we do not lose an entire generation of children."

Four years into the Syria crisis, overall enrolment in Syrian schools has halved from near 100% pre-crisis levels, while enrolment in the hardest hit areas such as Aleppo has plummeted to just 6%

And those children who have managed to escape the conflict in Syria are also missing out on education with devastating consequences. One in 10 Syrian refugee children across the region are estimated to be working, and the figure is likely to be much higher. In Jordan, 47% of refugee families reported relying partly or entirely on their children's income in a recent assessment.

We have heard from children being cursed and ridiculed by teachers in host countries, being told that they have ruined their country or to go back to Syria," Hearn said. "Others face corporal punishment at school. In Egypt alone, 30% of children we interviewed told us they were being hit by teachers and 70% are being verbally abused

Refugee children are also faced with learning an unfamiliar curriculum or even a teacher speaking a language they cannot understand.

With fewer than 1 in 10 Syrian refugees ages 15, 16, or 17 enrolled in secondary school or technical/vocational education, the risk of losing a generation of skilled professionals is very real

ajority of primary and secondary school-aged children say they want to go to school.

iolence

harassment

verbal abuse

corporal punishment in the classroom by Jordanian teachers and Syrian assistant teachers

nsecurity about leaving their family even for a few hour

work to earn money

distance to scho

ack of appropriate toilets

hungry

Large class sizes

yrian children are una

internet,

research required by the Jordanian curriculum

ordanian teachers

Some report that they do not feel safe working in Za’atari camp

transportation to the camp is costly

nexperienced

For every two Jordanian teachers, there is approximately one Syrian assistant teacher

yrian teachers are frustrated that they are only allowed to work as assistants in Za’atari camp given they are fully qualified teachers.

t has been recognized internationally that education is a right that must be upheld in emergency situations

Education can provide stability, normalcy and hope in a child’s day to day life during a crisis situation which can last for months and years.

he conflict in Syria is in its third year.

Global Partnership for Education requests partner countries to design their education sector plan sensitive to their context (PDF).

Za’atari camp reflect what children in other refugee camps may face worldwide.

nside Syria, two million children and adolescents are currently out of school.

“We simply cannot allow an entire generation of children and adolescents to be lost to ignorance, exploitation, despair and radicalisation.”

International humanitarian law, which declares that schools be respected as zones of peace and safe havens for children, has counted for little. The long-term consequences for children – and their place in the Syria of the future – can only be guessed at.

utside Syria, more than 50 per cent (600,000) of Syrian refugee children and adolescents are out of school, and this number continues to grow.

The campaigns include distribution of teaching and learning materials as well as school bags with stationary. Similar campaigns have been rolled out in countries hosting refugees.

When I go to the refugee camps and see the smiling faces of children, then I think we should not give up in the face of difficulties,

ublic schools receiving Syrian children are overstretched. Non-formal education spaces cannot absorb large numbers of students.

achers are not well equipped to work with stress, overcrowding and difference. Syrian children and adolescents are receiving multiple and dispersed forms of curricula and content that are not adapted to their capacity and needs and that come with enormous challenges in certification and accreditation.

 The war has split and scattered all of their families around the world. Bekandy's father is still back in Syria, her fiancé and mother are in London.

He hopes his good deeds might somehow help reunite him with his family, which is now split into three parts, spread across Europe.

His wife and six-year-old son are on the line from Athens. Their eldest daughter — just 15 — is in Germany.

Lezieh says ISIS drew that X on his house in Aleppo, marking it to show his was a Christian home. He says militants tried to recruit him, threatened to kidnap his children and bombed his new business

Now Lezieh gets by with donations from parishioners and hopes to see his family all in one place soon. He tries to smile through the tears. He has to. His daughter is calling.

The total duration in school remains intact, 12 years. The primary cycle of general education has been increased by one year, and is divided into two modules of three years each, while the intermediary cycle was reduced to three years instead of four. The first year of general education's secondary cycle must be considered common for all four different series of instruction, and the second year is common to only two out of four series. Lebanese students are not allowed to enter formal technical education before age 12, which is the age limit of obligatory education. The scholastic year was changed to 36 weeks, and 4 supplementary hours per week were added at the intermediary and secondary cycles.

The new school curricula was launched in September 1998, and the Educational Center for Research and Development had trained 16,000 teachers in public schools and 6,000 teachers in private schools on the new uses and principles of the new program. The new system took into account economic, social, and national perspectives. The principle characteristics of this new system consist of the following:

The Lebanese educational system has usually relied heavily on private schooling to accommodate the evergrowing demand for learning in the country

As to special education concerning handicapped students, there were about 10,000 handicapped people in 1975 (prior to the Lebanese civil war). During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, this number reached 13,000; it is more than 15,000 in 2001. About 2,500 handicapped people were being educated and made ready to enter the work market.

There are 1508 public and private intermediary and secondary schools for the general instruction program in Lebanon, while there are only 262 schools for the technical and professional instruction program divided between the public sector (29 schools) and the private sector (233 schools).

Education is compulsory until the end of the intermediate cycle, is available to all Lebanese students, and is attended by nearly 95 percent of school-age children

The school year starts in early October and ends in late June. The school day consists of six hours starting at 8:00 a.m. with two hour lunch break and ends at 4:00 p.m. The length of class periods ranges from 50 to 55 minutes. Both public and private schools are supposed to observe official holidays, which are decided by the government; however, Christian-administered, religious private schools take Saturday and Sunday off every week, while Moslem-run religious private schools take Friday and Sunday, and Jewish-run private schools take off all of Saturday and Sunday afternoon only.

In short, the new formal educational system of Lebanon, like in many other countries, divides the years of instruction as follows: 6-3-3 (six years for the primary cycle, three years for the intermediate cycle, and three years for the secondary cycle), followed by the higher education cycle. Primary school education is followed either by a six-year intermediary and secondary program, leading to the official Lebanese baccalaureate certificate, which was originally based on the equivalent French school diploma, or by a three- to six-year technical or vocational training program.

In addition, females appeared to have a slightly higher percentage than males with regard to attending schools and universities. After age 25 male attendance becomes almost double that of female attendance.

the literacy rate was 88.4 percent in 1997

ue to the Lebanese people's negative attitude toward manual work, especially in industry and agriculture, students of lower socioeconomic status enroll mostly in vocational and technical schools. Therefore, there is a big difference between the two major types of instruction, as well as the relative numbers of schools and students enrolled in each of these types

The brevet certificate is only required by public schools, vocational schools, and teacher training institutes. The baccalaureate part I exam has two main tracks: literary and scientific. The baccalaureate part II has four main tracks: literature and humanities, which includes language, literature, history, philosophy, education, arts, and religion; sociology and economy, which includes economic sciences, politics, business and management, law, and sociology; general sciences, which includes mathematics, physics, chemistry, and their applications at the level of engineering; and life sciences, which includes biology and life sciences, chemistry and their applications in the area of medicine, health, agriculture, and other related subjects.

Most institutions of higher education require entrance examinations besides the baccalaureate part II, which is required by law.

The grading system is generally based on scales of 0 to 20 or 0 to 100, with 10 or 60, respectively, as passing grades

he curriculum in Lebanese schools is somewhat rigid, for all students must pursue the same programs in all three cycles

rivate schools can choose textbooks that meet their syllabi, except in the civics area where the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport requires them to use the center's textbooks.

rabic and either French or English are the languages of instruction in the Lebanese schools.

The United Nations Reliefs and Works Agency (UNRWA) provides funds supporting a private nonsectarian school system for Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East. This type of private schooling has been very effective in offering education and social services for children of Palestinian Refugees residing in Lebanon

A UN commission of inquiry,

Western powers,

said it could only have been carried out by Syria's government.

regime and its ally Russia blamed rebels.

More than 3 million people have fled Syria since the start of the conflict,

A further 6.5 million people, 50% of them children, are believed to be internally displaced within Syria,

the total numbe

half the country's population.

rebel groups are also deeply divided

most prominent is the moderate National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces

Iran and Russia have propped up the Alawite-led government of President Assad and gradually increased their support,

support of Lebanon's Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement.

The Sunni-dominated oppositio

Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Arab states along with the US, UK and France.

rise of radical Islamist militia in rebel ranks and the arrival of Sunni jihadists from across the world has led to a marked cooling of international and regional backing.