The Syrian refugee crisis is one of the largest humanitarian crises of our time. Since the conflict began almost five years ago, more than seven million Syrians have been displaced and four million are living in refugee camps in neighboring countries. Among those four million, one million are children.

Syria had one of the best education rates in all of the Middle East before conflict erupted during the Arab Spring. Almost all of Syrian children were enrolled in primary school, and literacy rates were above 94 percent. That all changed once violence consumed the nation.

Basic education enrollment in Syria went from 100 percent to an average of 50 percent, but heavy conflict zones such as Aleppo have seen enrollment rates as low as 6 percent.

Syria is a vortex of intertwining complex problems, such as war and violence, that has leading nations and nongovernment organizations preoccupied with exerting their most valuable resources into their main objective: preserving human life and dignity.

The consequence of this is that other important issues such as education, sanitation and economic development are being neglected. Together, they will have dire consequences on the future of Syria.

An entire generation of Syrians may go uneducated. According to Save the Children, three million Syrian children overall are out of school. That means three million youth are deprived of economic opportunities, and more are susceptible to be recruited by radical and extremist groups that promise them a future of prosperity.

The violence has decimated educational facilities around Syria as well. It is estimated that to repair or replace damaged facilities, it would cost an estimated 2 billion GBP. More importantly, the resulting uneducated population will impact the future Syrian economy in a large way.

It is estimated that the future economy will lose 5.4 percent of its GDP because of the lack of skilled workers. This equates to almost 1.5 billion GBP.

There is hope, though. The United Nations had called for $224 million to ensure that the Syrian youth receive education. The United Nations also passed two resolutions to help aid reach its destination faster: resolution 2165 and 2191, which, among other things, authorized United Nations aid operations into Syria from neighboring countries without requiring the consent of the Syrian government.

Private companies such as Pearson, one of the largest publishers of education books in the world, are donating money to help educate the children. Pearson is planning to spend 1 million euros to help find solutions for Syria’s refugee education crisis and another 500,000 euros to support two education centers in Amman, Jordan.

With so many parents attempting to send their children to school, private schools with their subsidized programs are attempting to fill the void. While some may question the ethics behind building private institutions to provide humanitarian aid, Rob Williams, Chief Executive of War Child U.K.—a campaign that works to protect children in war—believes they might help.

He says that “there is evidence that private solutions can be quicker and the cost per pupil lower than with government solutions.” A combination of public and private projects will help quickly address a huge growing problem.

It may not be a permanent solution, but at the moment all resources available must be allocated to providing the necessary aid to end the conflict. The United States must also contribute and urge other nations to end the conflict and protect the children. An educated Syria will be better equipped to deal with the uncertain future.

– Adnan Khalid

Sources: The Guardian, Save the Children 1, Save the Children 2, Save the Children 3, United Nations
Photo: Flickr