Students enrol in formal education

In partnership with the Takaful Al-Sham and the support of UNICEF, WATAN implemented the project ‘Safe Access to Formal and Non-Formal Education’. During the project’s last stages, a virtual workshop was held, to hear feedback from a number of beneficiaries including teachers, administrators, parents and students. The following points were discussed: 
1.    The educational and logistical services provided during the project.
2.    Difficulties and challenges which arose.
3.    The difficulties and challenges facing education in the region.
4.    Proposals and recommendations for future education projects
5.    Filming school-life across 9 schools, focusing on documenting Arabic and English language lessons, mathematics and psychological support activities.
This was after the formation of the PTA committees across the nine schools, located in the camps: Qah, Atma camps, Tal al-Karamah, Dana, Salwa, Kafr Lusin, Hazrat, Bab al-Hawa, Deir Hassan, all in the northern countryside of Idlib. In each school a committee was created and a chairperson, deputy head, treasurer and secretary were appointed. My forming this committee, members of the community were involved in the project and were able to support the school, particularly in emergency situations.

WATAN had implemented this project in cooperation with the Directorate of Education in Idlib. It was done with the aim of providing formal and informal education for the students, whose ages ranged from 5-17 years and to also reduce the percentage of students who were unable to learn at home. After an initial needs assessment by WATAN’s survey teams, WATAN intervened to establish 9 educational centers in the targeted camps. The centers are listed here: Malik bin Anas, Al Hassan Al Basri, Ammar bin Yasir, Saeed bin Amer, Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib, Qadisiyah, Yarmouk, Tariq bin Ziyad, Musab bin Omair, all of which are fully equipped with security and supplies.
There were 2346 students, over the past six months, who received all the educational materials and guidance necessary to qualify them to continue their education through official institutions.
During the month of December WATAN provided 7000 masks, as well as continuing to provide the schools with the means to sterilize and keep the place clean.
2,288 students were provided with a school bag, copies of the curriculum and both recreational and psychological support materials, for activities to be carried out by staff.
Teachers were provided with bags containing stationery and educational aids. In addition to this, WATAN supplied each centre with electronic devices, including computers and printers, to help school administrators with office work. Daily sterilization of the schools continued, to decrease the spread of Corona virus.
As part of this project WATAN held training sessions for teachers. They explained the best way to prepare lessons and described different educational methods, which ensure the children have a good understanding and benefit as much as possible from their lessons. 
The ‘Back to School’ Campaign ran with the aim of encouraging children in camps to join school in the new year. This was done by distributing gifts as incentive and holding sessions to raise awareness. There were sessions were held for both the 2312 students and the 126 members of staff, across the 9 schools. The different topics covered ranged from COVID 19 to taking measures to prevent sexual exploitation.
The project contributed to reducing the rate of school dropouts and child labour and spreading awareness in camos about the importance of receiving an education.