Lebanon schools want papers Syrian families don’t have: HRW

BEIRUT // Lebanese schools are demanding that Syrian refugee families provide more documentation than required by the government to enrol their children – often papers that many refugee families do not have.

Such demands, outlined in a new report published on Tuesday by Human Rights Watch, are adding yet another obstacle to the challenge of trying to educate Syrian refugee children.

According to government rules, families are only required to present some form of identification, passport photos and school certificates to register Syrian students in public schools.

But out of the 156 families Human Rights Watch spoke to, 41 said schools had asked for additional documentation, including residency permits, registration papers from the United Nations’ refugee agency, health documents and attestations from local officials. Some even said that school officials had asked for enrolment fees, despite the fact that the schools are free of charge.

One mother who registered her 15-year-old daughter for school in the Christian-majority city of Jounieh was told that her daughter would not be allowed to attend classes if she wore the hijab.

For children enrolled in public schools, Human Rights Watch recorded instances of harassment, attacks on them while they travelled to school and corporal punishment, which is illegal in Lebanon. The watchdog also recorded frequent concern over low quality education in a school system where about half of the teachers lack a university degree and many are overworked.

* For more on the HRW report, click here