Education

According to the 2025 Vasyr results, only 50% of children aged 6 to 14 are in primary education level. At secondary level enrollment stands at 15% and only 10% of youth are in higher education. key barriers to education for Syrians in Lebanon include the cost of transportation 35%, and the cost of education materials 33%.

Working children are particularly likely to be out of school (70% according to UNHCR Protection Monitoring)

In recent years, Lebanon has experienced a prolonged and multifaceted crisis including economic collapse, institutional constraints, Covid 19 pandemic, security unrest, and repeated public servants and teachers’ strikes, which has severely affected the education sector, disproportionately impacting children and vulnerable populations, including refugees.

Persistent barriers to education, including transportation fees, a lack of school materials, and administrative constraints, continue to hinder access to quality education. Documentation issues pose a significant hurdle at all levels of education. Particularly at secondary and tertiary level lack of required documentation impedes academic progress.

UNHCR's Education Advocacy and Initiatives Highlights:

• UNHCR actively advocates for the inclusion of refugee children in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education policies and frameworks, ensuring equal access across all academic levels, focusing on vulnerability, operationalizing public education, learning recovery, and system reforms.
• UNHCR proposes evidence-based facts to support advocacy efforts, engaging through sector-level task teams, and education donors' working groups
• UNHCR implements certified short vocational trainings under the Youth Education Program to empower Lebanese and refugee youth, facilitating access to decent work and contributing to inclusive economic growth. This program fostered strategic collaborations with key governmental entities, UN agencies, field experts from the private sector, and non-governmental organizations, to ensure an impactful execution and expansion of the project contributing to its overall success.
• UNHCR Lebanon implements 15by30 roadmap, defining opportunities for investment in refugee higher education across five main pillars via independent enrolment in national higher education institutions, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, the DAFI scholarship program, Connected Higher Education programs and complementary education pathways.
• UNHCR offers qualified refugee students the possibility to earn an undergraduate degree in Lebanon through the DAFI scholarship program. The DAFI program empowers students to contribute knowledge and provides role models for refugee children and youth. The program has supported over 750 students since 2014.