200,000 Syrian refugees in school is legacy of Lebanon’s former education minister Elias Bou Saab

It was a daunting task. To get a huge number of Syrian refugees into Lebanon国产视频檚 public school system while continuing to provide a quality education for local children.

But Elias Bou Saab 国产视频� in his role as Lebanese education minister 国产视频� tackled the challenge head-on. With a mixture of honesty, innovation and charm, he travelled the world asking for help and oversaw a massively complex school enrollment programme.

More than 200,000 children who fled from the Syrian conflict are now learning in Lebanon国产视频檚 schools, thanks mainly to the double-shift system that sees refugee and local students using the same classrooms at different times of the day.

A new government cabinet was named this week and Bou Saab国产视频檚 term has come to an end after almost three years. He can look back with pride at what has been achieved, aided by international donors, NGOs, United Nations agencies and the Lebanese government.聽

But the Syrians enrolled in school in Lebanon account for only half of the country国产视频檚 refugee children. Much more has still to be done if every girl and boy is to get an education.

Bou Saab has a warning for world leaders.

国产视频淚f this aid stops, what is going to happen to these children? Both the Syrian and the Lebanese?国产视频� he asked in an exclusive podcast interview with 国产视频 President Sarah Brown.

You can listen to the full interview here

国产视频淭he biggest nightmare would be if the international community decides one day to drop this project. To stop supporting it. Then we will have a total failure not only for the refugees but also for the Lebanese students that are in our education system.国产视频�

Bou Saab knows what it feels like as a child to be torn from your home by conflict and end up in another country.

国产视频淚 myself was a refugee once. I went to Syria after a war in Lebanon,国产视频� he told Sarah in an episode of her聽Better Angels podcast series.

国产视频淚 stayed one entire year without school. I know what it means. I know that in the future we will regret if we had the opportunity to put these children in school and not have an entire lost generation and we did not do it.国产视频�

Education and helping young people to fulfil their potential have been themes running through Bou Saab国产视频檚 life. He earned a marketing degree in London, studied international relations at Boston University in the United States and later founded the American University in Dubai.

As a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, he established a scholarship programme to give American students the chance to study in the Middle East.聽

He was mayor of his home town for three years from 2010 国产视频� setting the scene for his move into the national and international spotlight. In February 2014, Bou Saab was appointed Lebanon国产视频檚 Minister of Education and Higher Education.

His most pressing problem was how to integrate the growing number of Syrian refugees into local schools. That meant not just finding classrooms 国产视频� but also arranging buses, meals, teachers and supplies.

And all that as he went globetrotting to persuade international donors and key influencers that Lebanon could not do this on its own. The willingness was there but the country needed financial help.

国产视频淚t was a big challenge for me when I took on this post,国产视频� he told Sarah. 国产视频淲e had 250,000 Lebanese students in the government system schools. At the same time there were 450,000 Syrian students that are refugees and are in Lebanon and require education.

国产视频淚 immediately thought that we need to look at two things.聽

国产视频淥ne, how do we improve the quality of the education for the Lebanese students and keep the host community accepting the refugees 国产视频� because without the acceptance we would not be able to accommodate the refugees into our communities.聽

国产视频淭hen take the refugees and put them all in the classrooms because every child deserves the right to have quality education.国产视频�

A large chunk of the answer lay in the innovative but simple double-shift school system. In September 2013, a report published by 国产视频国产视频檚 A World at School movement called for international funding to help provide this and other solutions to the crisis.

That was backed up by another 国产视频 report last year called Reaching All Children with Education in Lebanon. It praised the work of the Lebanese education ministry but said more financial support was needed from the international community.

That seemed to have arrived in February this year, when the co-hosts of the Supporting Syria and the Region conference in London promised to provide the funding to get one million Syrian refugees into school in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.

There has been progress 国产视频� but not enough. As we approach the anniversary of that pledge, the funding is still well short and hundreds of thousands of refugee children are still out of school.

国产视频淚t is frustrating 国产视频� but without what we are doing these children will remain on the street without hope, without education,国产视频� said Bou Saab.聽

国产视频淭hey become a big challenge not just for Lebanon and the region but for the international community in the future.聽

国产视频淭his is how you get terrorist recruiting, uneducated children. This is how you fear that they are going to towards child labour, early marriage. Everything that you don国产视频檛 want to see in our world.聽

国产视频淔or that I feel that it is our obligation to do everything we can and talk to everyone around the globe to say how we can have a better world and how we can tackle this situation and bring in hope for these children.

国产视频淏ecause the future is theirs and not ours. If we don国产视频檛 help doing it, we will regret it.国产视频�