BEIRUT—Schools in the Middle East are facing major budget shortfalls ahead of the new academic year, leaving some 1 million Syrian refugee children out of school, according to a report published by Theirworld, an international children’s charity.
The five-year-long Syrian war has placed huge strain on the region’s school systems, forcing neighboring countries to depend on multi-billion dollar grants from donor nations to meet education needs.
There are 2.5 million Syrian children registered as refugees with the United Nations, the world body says. Most live in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan as they wait for an opportunity to return home.
In February, the international community pledged $1.4 billion in school funding for host nations at a London donor conference but less than $400 million of that has been fulfilled, Theirworld estimates. That leaves a funding gap of $1 billion.
Kevin Watkins, the author of the report, which was published late Tuesday, said donors had “broken their promises.”
