Project

Increasing Access to Education for OOSC through the Self-Learning Programme

In partnership, Educate A Child and UNICEF USA aim to reach and enrol 366,286 out of school children (OOSC) in Syria via the Increasing Access to Education for OOSC through the Self-Learning Programme (SLP) in four years. The project is administered through the Whole of Syria approach.

Increasing Access to Education for OOSC through the Self-Learning Programme

Taking to scale the Self-Learning Programme (SLP) piloted through its Equitable Access to Education for OOSC Affected by the Crisis in Syria project with EAC, UNICEF USA aims to enrol an additional 366,286 Syrian OOSC over the course of a four-year period. The SLP and materials were developed jointly by UNICEF, UNRWA and the Syrian Ministry of Education (MOE) as a response to the education needs of children with limited or no access to schooling as a result of the conflict. The self-learning materials align with Syria’s national curriculum and enable pupils to sit for government exams. The SLP is designed in such a fashion that the use of materials can be supervised by an adult who has not had formal training in education. Through psychosocial support, provision of learning materials, teacher training and classroom rehabilitation/construction, the project seeks to provide a comprehensive self-study course in a safe-learning environment within the context of Syria’s conflict situation. The SLP permits OOSC to continue their education at home or in Community Learning Centres (CLCs), run by NGOs, with a comprehensive self-study curriculum for children who are missing out on regular school opportunities. For students who will use the materials at home, the CLCs will act as a resource centre where they can go for assistance when needed. While all OOSC beneficiaries of the project live in Syria, the project will be administered through two hubs (Damascus, Syria and Gaziantep, Turkey) and one working group (for North East Syria). This Whole of Syria approach will allow for more direct access to the targeted populations inside Syria.

Project sustainability rests, in large part, on the continued commitment and efforts towards maintaining education as a priority by partners in the education sector. As it stands, the proposed intervention builds on the existing programme and responds to the demands for education quality.  Moreover, all project activities will be carried out in close collaboration with the leadership at central and decentralised levels (governorate, district and sub-district) and sector coordination will be emphasised at each hub to cultivate partnerships, with UNICEF USA playing a lead facilitation role. 

*This project is financially supported in part through QUEST, the Qatar Upholding Education for Syrians’ Trust.

Partners

UNICEF USA

In partnership, EAC and UNICEF USA are providing quality primary education to 95,000 displaced children in Syria through offices in Amman, Damascus and Gaziantep.

Countries

Syrian Arab Republic

Syrian Arab Republic

Syria is a country of 14 provinces with its capital based in Damascus. Its economy has deteriorated steadily amid the ongoing conflict that began in 2011, declining by an estimated 62 percent from 2010 to 2014. The government has struggled to address the effects of international sanctions, widespread infrastructure damage, diminished domestic consumption and production and rising inflation, which has led to spiking budget and trade deficits, a shrinking value of the Syrian pound and falling household purchasing power.