BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Education Ministry called Tuesday on the international community to provide the required funds to enable Lebanon to educate thousands of refugee children in its public schools.
After a meeting with representatives of the World Bank and the British Development Ministry, Bou Saab stressed “the importance of an explicit commitment by the international community to the financial support” of the RACE project: Reaching All Children with Education.
According to Bou Saab, if not enough funds are donated to this project, 100,000 refugee children will be left without education next year.
The minister spoke to An-Nahar about the problems facing the plan, particularly the high cost of absorbing an additional 100,000 students into Lebanon's school system.
“There is an approved plan the ministry had prepared that is estimated to cost $200 million for an additional 100,000 refugee students to be funded by international organizations,” he said, according to an article published in the newspaper Monday. “Half of the needed amount was secured.”
After Tuesday’s meeting, the minister warned that the international community has yet to commit to funding the entire project.
The minister explained that Lebanon would be unable to accommodate many refugee students seeking enrollment this year because priority would be given to Lebanese children.
The minister issued a decree in August restricting registration to Lebanese students for a certain period, after which Palestinian, Iraqi and Syrian children could start registering.
The ministry extended the deadline for Lebanese students to enroll to the end of this week.
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