ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – More than 400,000 Syrian refugee children in Turkey are not able to attend school despite a Turkish government move that allowed them access to the Turkish schooling system, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Monday.
The U.S.-based rights group cited a language barrier, integration issues and financial difficulties as reasons for the refugee children’s poor access to education in Turkey.
It called on the international community to provide “urgent financial and technical support” for initiatives that would expand the children’s access to an education.
The group said Turkey should provide language support, and better disseminate information to the refugees about school enrollment. It also urged the country to grant work permits to the refugees to prevent the high rate of child labor among refugee children.
“Failing to provide Syrian children with education puts an entire generation at risk,” said Stephanie Gee, of the Human Rights Watch’s refugee rights program. “With no real hope for a better future, desperate Syrian refugees may end up putting their lives on the line to return to Syria or take dangerous journeys to Europe.”