Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011 Lebanon has been the overwhelming destination for fleeing refugees. According to a report issued by the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR in January 2020, Lebanon continues to host the largest number of refugees per capita worldwide. Children who are stateless, traumatised, and terrorised are among the most vulnerable groups of Syrian refugees. Their needs are enormous, ranging from shelter, to food, safety, and education.
This initial crisis is exacerbated by the economic free fall of Lebanon, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the learning and e-learning obstacles caused by the discriminatory laws of the Lebanese authorities. What are the dominant causes of learning loss in this case? What are the positive aspects of e-learning as well as the obstacles? And what was the result of the Lebanese authority’s disregard vis à vis the Syrian students? This article will endeavour to answer these questions.
LEARNING LOSS
Education is the most powerful weapon in the hands of the children refugees. Fawzia, a six-year-old, wants to study and become a dentist. “I love learning the alphabet (…) I am happy with the remote learning.” Education in emergencies is the riskiest, multi-layered need of all needs. It is also the most evident human right granted to children after shelter, food, and safety in their temporary refuge. Nonetheless, education demands more than just charity and donation from official and non-official sources. It encompasses thorough short-term and long-term planning, expertise, and tailored educational programmes. More importantly, education of vulnerable children requires the cooperation, transparency, and willingness of the hosting country’s competent authorities.
According to UN data, 58% of children aged three - 18 were out of school for the 2018-2019 school year in Lebanon. After the pandemic resulted in the closure of schools, the dropout rates surged further.
“I am 16 years old–at this age I should be living the best days of my childhood (…) Dropping out of school made me feel like I’m unwanted in this life. I used to work 12 hours a day, standing on my feet while I should be at school studying,” said Amer, a child refugee who had to leave his schooling to financially help his family. Lebanon’s financial crisis, which started at the end of 2019, paired with the pandemic in March 2020, has led many children in the country to drop out of school and work to assist in feeding their families.
E-LEARNING AND CHILDREN’S RIGHT TO DIGITAL LEARNING
Back in 2017, an indispensable partnership to support UNICEF Education in Emergencies (EIE) programmes emerged engaging the Akelius Foundation, UNICEF Sweden, and UNICEF Headquarters. The project was a co-creation of a digital language course in Greece. In 2019, the EdTech solution “Akelius” expanded to Lebanon too. The Akelius Digital Language Course aims to help children learn wherever they live and can be used on computers, phones, and tablets.
For Syrian students, the transition from the Syrian educational system to the Lebanese system was very complicated. French and English are strongly incorporated in Lebanese schools. Students need EdTech programs like Akelius to excel and succeed in Lebanon’s trilingual educational system. In 2019 many non-formal education partner organisations stepped in, supported by UNICEF Lebanon, and began testing Akelius in their centres by introducing it to classes in a blended teaching and learning environment. After exploring the functionality of the digital course and its content, teachers started introducing it into classrooms, achieving remarkable results and motivating students to excel in learning French and English.
E- LEARNING OBSTACLES AND LOSS
In March 2020, the pandemic forced students home, and into remote learning. Reaching the parents and spreading awareness about remote learning was not a problem. On the contrary, teachers did their best to explain remote learning to parents who were very receptive and positive. However, distrust towards governmental institutions made refugee families doubtful about the efficiency of remote learning programmes. Teachers reported a mountain of technical problems: unstable electricity, internet connectivity for both teachers and students,and the late or non-delivery of devices such as tablets, laptops, and telephones.
Overall WhatsApp proved the technological winner for remote learning due to its availability among the parents who allowed their kids to use it for remote learning. Printed materials, YouTube, and other online platforms were used in remote learning as well. Nonetheless, romantic learning provisions were piecemeal.
Data revealed that in terms of foreign language, children attending remote classes run by centres that used the digital course scored better than children where the digital language course was not used. For example, one refugee student said to a UNICEF interviewer; “the nice thing is that the digital course includes many pictures and photos. You can give me a new word for a month, but I will never learn it without a picture. If a picture is attached to the object, I can remember the word for it”. Other children explained his motivation; “I log in alone on the digital course, without anyone helping me. I learn a lot”. As a result, thinking of the institutional obstacles that the parents, teachers, schools, and centres, were afraid of, one can figure out the enormous e-learning and learning loss.
THE SLACKNESS OF LEBANESE AUTHORITIES
The Ministerial meeting that took place in Brussels warned that in Lebanon education and learning are in a free-fall. The financial, and Covid-related turns holding Lebanon have led hundreds of thousands of Syrians and Lebanese deeper into poverty, heightening risks of dropouts, child labour, and child marriage.
Many humanitarian workers and teachers in centres reported the negligence of the Lebanese institutions to support remote learning. There were reports of incidents in many areas of Lebanon such as primary schools not providing any remote learning but sending the children YouTube links, videos, and material at home. Additionally, donors who provided kids with free laptops, telephones, and tablets were given false information about lost or destroyed shipments.
The latest scandal erupted when the Lebanese government blocked Syrian students access to education by setting a stringent school registration deadline. Human Rights Watch stated that “thousands of Syrian refugee children have been out of school, blocked by policies that require certified educational records, legal residency in Lebanon, and other official documents that many Syrians cannot obtain”.
Bill Van Esveld, associate children’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. announced that; “there is no excuse for policies that block Syrian children from going to school and leave them with nowhere to turn for a better future. What a petty that education minister has the audacity to adopt such discriminatory approach for refugee children’s enrolments in schools”.
SOLUTIONS AND PRACTICAL DECISIONS
The plight of the Syrian children in Lebanon cannot be ignored. In terms of education and Ed Tech solutions, children are fighting discrimination, poverty, and lack of connectivity. “As a starting point, to deliver equity in the use of digital technologies in education means beginning where it is most difficult”. Therefore, the educational community is urged to pilot digital learning in challenging circumstances to be able to add to the bank of knowledge about digital education. Parents can also contribute positively to remote learning by communicating frequently and being informed about the right usage of online platforms such as Zoom. Another avenue is investing in teacher’s digital skills and their readiness to use digital alternatives in emergencies to promote remote learning. The Lebanese government should listen to the international community and humanitarian organisations that quick investment in sustainable infrastructure for electricity and connectivity must be a priority. The policies of the Lebanese authorities must be non-discriminatory.
Sahar Azba holds an Executive Master’s degree in European Union Studies and International Studies from CIFE European Institute specialized in European Union law and Human Rights law. Sahar is a Policy Officer. Her research interests are human rights, women’s rights, minorities’ rights, immigrants’ rights and European Union law.