{“Entire generation at risk” as 400,000 Syrian children miss formal education in Turkey, Human Rights Watch says.}
Two-thirds of Syrian refugee children in Turkey are not attending school, Human Rights Watch has warned in its latest report.
The 62-page report released on Sunday documents obstacles such as financial difficulty and language barriers, which prevent Syrian refugee children from receiving a formal education in Turkey.
“Failing to provide Syrian children with education puts an entire generation at risk,” said Stephanie Gee, Bernstein fellow in the refugee rights programme at Human Rights Watch.
Turkey hosts more than 2 million Syrian refugees, including 708,000 school-aged children.
More than 400,000 of them do not receive a formal education, the rights group warned.
The Turkish government adopted a policy in September 2014 that formally granted Syrian children access to public schools, but key obstacles including language barriers, social integration, economic hardship, and a lack of information about the policy, persist one year later, Human Rights Watch said.
In 2014-2015, at least 212,000 were enrolled in formal education at the primary and secondary levels, based on Ministry of National Education data.
While the enrollment rate inside refugee camps was nearly 90 percent, most refugees live outside camps, where only 25 percent of school-age children were enrolled in school.
According to the report, providing education to the remaining Syrian refugee children out of school, will reduce risks of early marriage, military recruitment of children by armed groups and stabilise their future.
Turkey says it has already spent over $7bn on its response to the Syrian refugee crisis since 2011, and $252mn on Syrian refugee education in 2014-2015.
A new kind of education
Civil societies and Syrian NGOs in Turkey also play a role in providing formal and informal education to Syrian refugees.
Several NGOs were established after the Syrian war began in 2011, many of which work and function in host countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Some even function inside of Syria.
Watanili, a grassroots initiative which provides support for Syrian refugees in Turkey and internally displaced Syrians, is one of them.
Through arts therapy, educational programmes, and community-oriented projects and workshops, Watanili provides a new style of education to Syrian children in Turkey and Northern Syria.
Watanili launched in May 2014 and works with children aged from five to 14.
Yara Tlass, the group’s founder, told Al Jazeera that its work focuses on education, arts and culture – three aspects they believe were taken away from Syrian children when they became refugees.
Along with its partner Books for Syria, a certified UNICEF project, Watanili holds crowdfunding campaigns and fundraisers.
“Our programme runs for five days, twice a year. We [have] a group of volunteers from around the world.
“It is hard to see an apparent change right after the workshops as it is a long-term healing process which requires time, but with every project that we carry out we see some positive difference,” Tlass said.
“The next generation of Syrian youth need to be exposed to sustainable healing processes to cope with the traumatic experiences they have endured.
“This could provide them with a safe environment where they can play, learn and heal to thrive in their communities whether in Turkey, any other country, or in the ‘future’ Syria.”
According to the UNHCR, there is a total of 4.2mn Syrian refugees, including 4mn children and 12.2mn internally displaced people, including 5.6mn children.
ALJAZEERA
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