UNICEF Education Cannot Wait — MENA Emergency Education

Education | UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Skip to main content Data portal Data on the situation of children in the Middle East and North Africa Click to close the emergency alert banner. Middle East and North Africa Toggle navigation Current language: English Click to select different language Current language: English العربية Visit UNICEF Global Middle East and North Africa Explore UNICEF Our regional director Where we work Work for UNICEF Contact us Press centre Donate Middle East and North Africa What we do Research and reports Regional stories Take action Search area has closed. Search area has opened. Search Close Search form Search Clear search input Search for result Hide filters Show filters Selecting a value will cause the page to reload with filter applied. Show results from: Clear search input Search for result Max Clear search input Search for result Programme Education Working to ensure that all children in the region have equitable opportunities to quality and relevant education. UNICEF/UN036092/Mackenzie English العربية Jump to Challenge Solution Resources COVID-19 Outbreak resulted in tremendous effect in education causing almost 100 million students in MENA region to be out-of-school due to school closure. Check out COVID-19 Response in Education to see how UNICEF MENA Education is putting effort for children to keep learning! Challenge Nearly half of the population in the Middle East and North Africa is aged under 24. 1 in 5 people in the region are between 10-24 years old. These adolescents and youth have the potential to become changemakers, by actively contributing to addressing the region’s most pressing issues and to reaping the demographic dividend. But to unleash this potential, they need access to opportunities to learn and develop skills needed to earn a dignified living. UNICEF works with governments and partners in over 16 countries in the region, supporting national education systems to provide access to quality education and learning opportunities, in formal and non-formal settings, for all children, wherever they are. Conflicts and crises taking their toll on further progress The MENA region continues to witness several conflicts and crises. One in every five children in MENA is not in school , and of these out-of-school children, an estimated number of over 3 million should have been in school if the crises never happened. By the end of 2017, the armed conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen brought back the number of regional out-of-school children to its 2007 level of over 14.3 million. For many who can access school today, the possibility of learning in a classroom is jeopardized by continued conflicts. More than 8,850 education facilities in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya [1] have been attacked and destroyed leaving them incapable of hosting students for education purposes. Many of those who receive education, often find themselves unequipped with the skills sought after in the labour market, and unable to engage in meaningful and dignified work. Two-thirds of youth in the Levant feel that the education system is not preparing them for their future , according to Arab Youth Survey 2017. Gender inequalities continue and are exacerbated by conflicts and crises, leaving many behind Crises increase the vulnerability of children and youth, with girls often more at risk of gender-based violence and child marriage, and boys being forced into child labour or recruitment in armed forces by parties to the conflict. Adolescent girls are 1.5 times more likely to be out of school in lower secondary education in the region and one in five girls in the region are married before the age of 18. For female youth, the unemployment rate is even higher where more than 2 out of 5 in North Africa and more than one third in the Arab States being unemployed. [2] Education systems are failing, leaving learners without the skills they need for a prosperous future Poor quality education – in international assessments …