Makeshift schools for Syria's displaced children - in pictures

Children learning again in the village of Haranabush despite lack of facilities

TOPSHOT - Displaced children peak out of holes in their classroom at a makeshift school, set-up in camp for internally displaced Syrians, in the village of Haranabush, in the country's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on May 11, 2024. Since 2011, Syria has endured a bloody conflict that has claimed over half a million lives, displaced several million people and plunged the country into a suffocating economic crisis. The war's widespread destruction of infrastructure has particularly impacted education facilities, with many schools destroyed and other turned into shelters. A third of all school-age children, nearly 2. 4 million, did not attend school and another 1. 6 million children were at risk of dropping out, according to a recent report from the UN children's agency. Many have been forced to leave school to work and support their families who have struggled to meet their basic needs due to the drastic reduction in their purchasing power over the years of war and Western-imposed sanctions. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)

The school has been set up in a camp for internally displaced Syrians

Since 2011, Syria has endured a bloody civil war in which at least half a million people have been killed

The armed conflict began with an uprising against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad

It now involves various state-sponsored and non-state actors

Several million more have been displaced, while Syria has been plunged into a suffocating economic crisis

Education is supposed to be free and compulsory in Syria for children aged six to 15

But the widespread destruction of infrastructure has hit education facilities hard

Many schools have been destroyed and others turned into shelters

An aerial view shows displaced children arriving for class at the makeshift school in Haranabush, Idlib

The UN children's agency compiled a recent report on the schooling situation in Syria

One third of all school-age children, nearly 2.4 million, do not attend, it was found

Another 1.6 million were at risk of dropping out of school, the UN said

A pupil with a volunteer teacher at a lesson in Haranabush

Many pupils have been forced to leave school to work and support their families

Syrians have struggled to meet their basic needs throughout the long-running conflict

They have had to contend with a drastic reduction in their purchasing power and sanctions imposed by the West

But these displaced children in Haranabush are now receiving lessons at their makeshift school

It is hoped wider education can redress destabilisation in the country

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