The new academic year has started on time in most countries around the world, with those involved in the educational process resuming discussions about the quality of education systems, ways to improve student performance, and solutions to issues related to curricula, teachers, infrastructure, and more. However, the scene of children preparing for a normal school day is absent in several Middle Eastern countries where armed conflicts have devastated educational infrastructure and forced children to flee with their families to escape death. This has exacerbated the already significant educational gap left by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in countries like Sudan, Yemen, and Palestine, affecting their growth opportunities.
Challenging Conditions:
When discussing the resumption of classes in conflict zones, the safety of children — both within schools and on their way to them — remains the primary concern for parents. They often have to weigh the opportunity for their children to continue their education against the associated risks. Frequently, they find the likelihood of danger to their children outweighs the benefits of attending school due to the low quality of educational services available; this reduces the chances of children’s enrollment in school or gaining a minimum level of education in the deteriorating conditions left by armed conflicts, which are summarized as follows:
Damaged Infrastructure and Unfit Study Conditions: According to the “Attacks on Education 2024” report published by the “Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack” in June 2024, approximately 6,000 attacks occurred on the education sector during 2022 and 2023, marking a 20% increase compared to the previous two years. This number has significantly risen based on data published about schools in Sudan, Yemen, and Palestine. In Sudan, for instance, there are 22,000 schools, 14,000 of which have stopped operating due to the war, while 6,000 have been transformed into shelters for the displaced, increasing the number of students deprived of education from 7 million before the current conflict to 17 million out of 19 million school-aged children.
In Yemen, a report by “Save the Children” in March 2024 indicated that 2,426 schools had been rendered inoperative due to Houthi attacks, representing 15% of the total 16,034 schools. However, the Yemeni Prime Minister, Dr. Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, raised the figure to 2,860 partially or fully destroyed schools at the beginning of the current school year, highlighting the continued assault on educational institutions despite a ceasefire between warring parties in Yemen.
The situation in the occupied Palestinian territories is similarly dire, with Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023, destroying 93% of the total 593 schools in the Gaza Strip. Restrictions on Palestinian movement and fear of violence have led to the closure of about 20% of schools in the West Bank.
Before the current escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, the number of closed schools in southern Lebanon reached 70, including eight schools for Syrian refugees. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed on September 25 that recent attacks had converted 300 schools into shelters for the displaced, potentially affecting the education of around 100,000 children.
Limited Impact Efforts: Despite the deteriorating situation in conflict-affected countries, there have been numerous attempts to salvage the academic year in some safer areas. However, these efforts can be deemed weak due to the low number of children receiving educational services compared to the total. In Sudan, classes have resumed partially in only six of the 18 states, with 600 schools in the Red Sea State northeast of Sudan offering services to just 140,000 students. This was followed by the Nile River and Sennar States, amid doubts about the initiative’s sustainability given the escalating clashes between the Sudanese army and rapid support forces.
In Yemen, the Houthis control regions with more than 50% of the total school-aged children but do not provide a genuine educational service; children are merely enrolled in school rolls without actual attendance, and those who do attend receive poor education in exchange for fees imposed by the Houthi group due to limited financial resources. Since 2016, they have struggled to print textbooks or pay the salaries of 176,000 teachers, according to the “Reality of Education in Yemen 2023” report from the “Yemeni Coalition for Education for All”. While UNICEF, in cooperation with the internationally recognized legitimate Yemeni government, seeks to provide education to over 500,000 children and incentives to over 35,000 teachers through the “Restoring Education and Learning” (REAL) project aimed at rehabilitating 1,000 schools, the project’s success hinges on the continued cessation of hostilities between the conflicting parties in Yemen.
In the Palestinian territories, all children in the Gaza Strip are entirely deprived of educational opportunities, except in a few limited-impact situations such as UNICEF providing 39 temporary educational spaces serving 12,400 students, and volunteers striving to teach the basics of reading and writing. Some volunteers are also active in shelters for the displaced in Sudan, but these efforts cannot guarantee any form of quality education that countries worldwide aim to achieve by 2030. Despite the commencement of the academic year in the West Bank, ongoing threats to its continuity still exist, raising the possibility of the Palestinian Ministry of Education relying on remote learning, which has not benefited students over the past year.
Negative Consequences:
With armed conflicts continuing in several countries in the region, worsening humanitarian conditions, and depriving children of their right to education, there are various negative impacts on individuals, local communities, and potentially neighboring countries. The most significant of these may include:
Negative Effects on Students and Teachers: For students, the rates of educational loss rise due to prolonged interruptions in their studies and reduced motivation for future learning. The adverse effects also extend to significant impacts on children’s mental, emotional, and social health, including feelings of frustration and isolation, as well as the possibility of students permanently dropping out. As for teachers, published reports indicate that a substantial percentage have been forced to leave the teaching profession, either due to enforced school closures, as seen in Gaza and most states of Sudan, or due to non-payment of salaries, as evident in schools in Yemeni governorates controlled by the Houthis.
Increased Risks of Child Exploitation and Recruitment: Conflicts facilitate armed groups and militias in recruiting and exploiting children in various ways, as seen in Houthi camps in Yemen, which took advantage of the conflict in Gaza to recruit more children.
Harm to Local Communities: Illiteracy and poverty of learning in communities suffering from armed conflicts reduce their future economic growth prospects; educational attainment is known to increase income by approximately 9% for every additional year of schooling. This impact also extends to community cohesion and trust in national institutions, necessitating greater resources, efforts, and wider partnerships to return students to school post-conflict.
Extended Effects on Neighboring Countries: The most pronounced effects in neighboring countries include increased waves of displacement and migration due to political, economic, and educational instability, which place pressure on educational and health services in host communities, as well as potential negative social phenomena such as extremism and violence in some of these areas.
Available Alternatives:
In light of the current situation in conflict zones in some Middle Eastern countries and the identified significant negative consequences for individuals and local communities, several alternatives and proposals can be put forward to alleviate educational losses in these nations:
Political Alternatives: These may include the commitment of conflicting parties to international agreements such as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which prohibits the recruitment of children under 18, and the Safe Schools Declaration, aimed at protecting educational institutions from attacks.
Humanitarian Alternatives: This includes providing immediate and urgent support to children in affected areas, with this support specifying the following aspects:
- International organizations like UNICEF and the Education Cannot Wait Fund can provide financial and educational support to children in conflict zones, similar to what the Education Cannot Wait Fund implemented in Gaza last year.
- Launching intensive non-formal educational programs in camps and safe areas to ensure education in literacy and life skills for displaced children.
- Offering psychological and social support services to help children cope with trauma from conflict.
Developmental Alternatives: These refer to long-term strategies aimed at improving the overall education system in the post-conflict period, which may include:
- Rebuilding damaged schools and providing safe learning environments, requiring substantial funding from the international community and donor countries.
- Focusing on reintegrating qualified teachers into schools and training new teachers to provide quality education in post-conflict environments.
- Reviewing and updating curricula to make them more inclusive and relevant to the needs of children in conflict areas, while emphasizing the promotion of humanitarian values and tolerance.
In conclusion, it can be asserted that the education crisis in conflict-affected countries in the Middle East represents one of the most significant humanitarian challenges facing the international community and regional countries and requires a comprehensive response with three dimensions: political, humanitarian, and developmental. This is essential to ensure safe, sustainable educational environments that guarantee children’s right to education in conflict zones and enhance the opportunities of local communities for cohesion and a better future while reducing the risks imposed by the current situation.
