Source: Save the Children
At least 52 million school age children have been forced to stop school, moved to online learning or had their education disrupted as violence in the Middle East and wider region entered its second week, Save the Children said.
Data calculated by Save the Children using UN population data and percentages of school aged children (aged 5 – 17) for countries and areas [1] affected by the conflict showed the extent to which education for children from all backgrounds has been impacted with schools damaged, closed or repurposed as shelters.
In Lebanon, where over 770,000 people, including at least 300,000 children, have been forcibly displaced , about 900 public schools have been allocated to serve as collective shelters, representing 73% of all public schools, with 328 public schools currently being used as shelters.
This is the seventh year of significant disruptions to education for children in Lebanon, who have been hit by multiple complex crises for decades.
Across the region that is home to at least 100 million children, schools have also been destroyed or damaged, including 65 schools in Iran that were destroyed by airstrikes, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. [2]
In the West Bank most schools have been closed since the start of the recent escalations on 28 February, due to safety risks of falling debris and the closure of Israeli military checkpoints which is blocking students and teachers from reaching school.
As of early March, schools and universities in several Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain, have also shifted to distance learning due to security concerns.
In Israel schools will remain closed until at least the end of the week.[3]
Concerns over disruptions to global oil supplies have forced schools further afield to shut.
Across Pakistan, schools have been asked to shut for the next two weeks as part of measures to help conserve fuel, but exams will continue as scheduled, the country’s Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training said this week.
Ahmad Alhendawi, Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa and Eastern Europe at Save the Children, said:
“In every conflict, classrooms are usually the first to close and some of the last places to reopen. Every missed lesson deepens the scars of war. Not every child can escape the violence or afford to move their learning online – we know that for the most vulnerable children, once they leave school many will never return.
Schools are protected sites and attacks on them could amount to grave breaches of international humanitarian law. The laws of war must be respected.”
Marian Hodgkin, Global Head of Education at Save the Children, said:
“We’ve seen schools destroyed due to air strikes, and being used as shelters as people run from their homes and seek shelter in schools. The loss of regular schooling means we now must provide safe spaces for children who are directly impacted by this conflict so that they can be supported by a trusted adult and learn lifesaving messages like how not to get injured in rubble or avoid unexploded ordinances.
This conflict directly impacts not only students’ academic performance but their protection and ability to cope with increasing risks and instability.”
Save the Children is preparing for and is already responding across the region to keep children safe and learning even when formal schools are closed.
The child rights organisation’s plans include the delivery of Education in Emergencies (EiE) activities to help keep children protected and connected and to support their wellbeing.
Save the Children is the world’s largest independent child rights organisation, reaching tens of millions of children annually in about 110 countries through its work to save and improve children’s lives.
Notes
Methodology: Save the Children looked at the population data using UN data for countries currently affected by the hostilities in the Middle East and wider region and determined the number of school aged children (ages 5-17) as a percentage of the population. Countries/regions were analysed based on confirmed and ongoing disruptions to children’s education including missed school days or transitions to online or alternative learning and announcements about closures by education ministries.
References:
[1] This includes Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, State of Palestine, and the United Arab Emirates.
