Living on Hope, Hoping for Education: The failed response to the Syrian refugee crisis

Four years into the Syrian crisis, over half a million Syrian refugee children are out of school. The education crisis is fueling an epidemic of child labour and early marriage. This publication performs a case analysis of the situation for refugee children and education in Lebanon.

Public schools in Lebanon cannot cope with the challenges they are facing. The school-age refugee population exceeds the current intake of the country’s public schools and an over-stretched and under-resourced education system faces acute pressure.

This publication calls for the increased and full financing of education programmes provided by UNICEF and Lebanon’s own Reach All Children with Education (RACE) strategies. Pooled funds would provide predictable financing and would demonstrate donor commitment to educational opportunity as a humanitarian imperative, and as a priority for security, social stability and economic recovery.