Education, in its true sense, is helping individuals to be mature and free, and to blossom with love and hope. It is a fundamental and crucial right for every child, yet in times of conflict and disaster, it is often significantly disrupted, denying millions of girls and boys the opportunity to have a quality safe education.
As the Syrian war continues into its 10th year, Lebanon, Syria’s closest neighbor, is bearing the biggest burden. More than half of the Syrian population have been forced to flee their homes, where a large number of children aged between 5 and 17 years have missed years of education, and are currently out of school. Girls, boys, and children with disabilities who settled in Lebanon most often lack access to education in the Beqaa and Baalbek-Hermel governorates.
The Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST), in partnership with UNICEF, implemented the education program (BLN & ABLN) since 2018. This program was executed in 17 centers targeting non-Lebanese children aged between 10 and 14 years who have never been enrolled in schools, or have dropped out for two years or more. Moreover, the main goal of the education program is to help children who suffer from multiple deprivations, including child labor, child marriage, and disabilities. In times where education is a minimal right, 4,786 children enrolled in the education program at LOST until now are referred to formal education or the Accelerated Learning Program (ALP).
The Remedial Program is a part of the education program that will start in 2021. This Remedial program targets 1,500 children enrolled in first and second shift public schools from grade 7 to grade 9 who are at risk of dropping out due to their poor academic performance and achievement results. The Remedial Program will extend over one round of 4-5 months during the scholastic year of 2020-2021, between February and June, 2021. It consists of a total of maximum 160 hours and includes 50% of Lebanese and non-Lebanese students with gender balance. Students will attend at a rate of 3 hours of learning per day, 4 days per week. The program focuses on providing these children with individualized homework support in all subjects that they need help with (Arabic language, foreign language, Mathematics, Science). Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, all educational institutions all over the world were closed. LOST relied on the remote learning process to continue the education schedule and not deprive students from this basic right. The Remedial Program will run virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and may follow a blended learning methodology if this pandemic is over.
