Are data available on the impact of Covid-19 on school drop-out?
The Middle East Monitor, a not-for-profit press monitoring organisation and lobbying group that largely focuses on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, reported on the topic of Palestinian refugee children’s education in Lebanon:
“The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) has highlighted its concerns about the condition of refugee children in Lebanon, Safa News Agency reported on Monday. Speaking at the 49th meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, the representative of the advocacy group explained the economic and social difficulties facing Palestinian refugee children in Lebanon and called for urgent relief for them. ‘The Palestinian refugee children in Lebanon are still suffering due to the harsh economic conditions which were aggravated due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the closure of schools for more than a year,’ he explained. ‘They are living and working under very difficult conditions and are subject to mistreatment and exploitation.’ The PRC pointed out that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has registered more than 60,000 children among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, making up 30 per cent of the total. Most of them are unable to attend Lebanese schools.”
(Source: Middle East Monitor: “Palestinian advocacy group highlights condition of refugee children in Lebanon”, 15 March 2022)
The news agency Aljazeera published an article in December 2021 about child labour among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon:
“Rochdi [UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon] sounded the alarm on child labour, child marriage and psychological distress among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, a country hit by one of worst economic crises in more than a century, according to the World Bank.
UN officials said that since last summer, almost 60 percent of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have eaten fewer meals to cope with high medical and food prices. Some 1,200 students have dropped out of school.”
(Source: Al Jazeera, “UNRWA in ‘race against time’ for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon”, 19 January 2022)
In a advocacy paper titled ‘Palestine refugees in Lebanon: Struggling to survive, UNRWA wrote:
“The students who had access to distance learning during the pandemic experienced learning losses due to the closure of schools and the under-developed communications infrastructure in Lebanon and inside the camps, which is not conducive to online learning. The lack of a stable internet connection, access to smart devices and academic support at home (from parents and relatives) have pushed some students to disengage from school. […] “UNRWA indicates that the cases of child labour, including begging, rubbish collection and working regularly on the street, have risen during the pandemic, in addition to increased cases of child marriage, child abuse and harassment and violence against girls and women.”
(Source: UNRWA, “Palestine Refugees in Lebanon: Struggling to Survive” 18 January 2022, p. 11)
UNRWA also noted in 2022 that:
“At the educational level, UNRWA estimates that more than 1,275 Palestine refugee students left school during the school year 2020-2021 in Lebanon, of whom 55 per cent left school as a result of psychological distress. The students who had access to distance learning during the pandemic experienced learning losses due to the closure of schools and the under-developed communications infrastructure in Lebanon and inside the camps, which is not conducive to online learning. The lack of a stable internet connection, access to smart devices and academic support at home (from parents and relatives) have pushed some students to disengage from school. Even after the end of the lockdowns and the re-opening of schools, students are still facing many challenges in attending their classes and enjoying an adequate learning experience. The rise of transportation costs is disrupting the students’ commute to school and the electricity cuts affect their studying hours. There are also reports [...] highlighting rising distress and violence against adolescents and young within the household, community or at school. Stress and violence have been increasing, especially that the pandemic-related tensions have been exacerbated by the economic and financial hardships that households are currently facing. UNRWA indicates that the cases of child labour, including begging, rubbish collection and working regularly on the street, have risen during the pandemic, in addition to increased cases of child marriage, child abuse and harassment and violence against girls and women.”
(Source: UNRWA, “Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon: Struggling to Survive”, January 2022, p. 11)
UN News reported in October 2021 that:
“At least 1.2 million children, including Syrian and Palestinian refugees, have had their education disrupted for more than a year, according to the UN Children’s Fund.”43
(Source: UN News, “$383 million humanitarian plan to address ‘living nightmare’ in Lebanon”, October 1, 2021)
A UNRWA report from 2021 provided information on the impacts of anti-Covid-19 measures on school attendance of Palestine refugee children in Lebanon, noting among others that “In Lebanon, girls reported an increase in online harassment and blackmailing through social media.”:
“3.2.4. Addressing school drop-out
In 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the cumulative drop-out rate showed Agency-wide improvement for elementary school and preparatory school students compared to 2019. This improvement may be linked to the decision for automatic grade level promotion, which may have motivated students to stay in school. However, this improvement was not shown for all students. Indeed, drop-out rates increased in Lebanon and Jordan for elementary school students for both boys and girls. For both male and female preparatory school students, the drop-out rate increased in Lebanon, and the drop-out rate increased Agency-wide for female preparatory school students.
43 We were unable to clarify if this excerpt was referring to (Palestinian Refugees from Syria (PRS) or Syrian refugees who are not Palestinians.
Due to COVID-19, UNRWA schools and VTCs closed in all 5 UNRWA fields of operation in March 2020, and the Agency had to reconceptualise its overall Education in Emergency (EiE) approach to support learning continuity. The focus was on supporting learning remotely. However, a May 2020 phone-based survey conducted by UNRWA found that although 96 per cent of UNRWA students have at least one internet-capable device, only 57 per cent of them are able to use a smartphone on a daily basis. Minimal gender differences were found in smartphone use overall in younger children (grades 1 to 6), but they increased with age, with girls using smartphones more than boys on average, across all fields of operation. The Agency is aiming to conduct a survey directly with students in early 2021 to verify whether there may be any gender gaps in access to technology or remote learning which may affect students’ educational outcomes. UNRWA is also currently reviewing results on key indicators such as dropout and grade repetition in 2020 to identify any trends of concern for boys and girls.
The start of the new 2020/21 school year continued to be uncertain regarding the possible modalities of learning (i.e. remote, face to face, or hybrid/blended) amidst the constantly-evolving context of COVID-19. In Jordan, the school year began with a blended learning modality and then moved to full remote learning. In Lebanon, the school year started using a hybrid/blended learning modality, with some shifts to fully remote. The West Bank followed the hybrid/blended model. Syria was the sole UNRWA field where students returned to full school-based, face-to-face learning. In Gaza, the school year started through remote learning, then shifted to the hybrid model, but eventually went back to being fully remote.
[…] It must be noted that the COVID-19 pandemic may impact girls’ and boys’ education differently. For girls, challenges may arise due to parental concerns surrounding their safety, or to social and economic difficulties leading girls to drop out from schools to assist in housework or be married early.
In Lebanon, for example, women reported an increase in child marriages as a negative coping mechanism in the face of economic burden. Boys, on the other hand, may drop out from school to help support their family economically. A rapid impact assessment conducted by UNRWA in Syria, for example, revealed that, due to challenges in covering basic needs, negative coping strategies such as child labour have emerged: 8 per cent of Palestine refugee households reported that children below 18 are working, with no relevant gender differences noted. Both boys and girls may face challenges in staying safe online, and both may have higher exposure risks to domestic violence.”
(Source: UNRWA, UNRWA Gender Equality Strategy 2016-2021: annual implementation report January-December 2020, May 2021, pp. 10-11)