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Mariam Khatib, a 15-year-old Syrian refugee in Lebanon, says she has just one wish in life �鶹APP� to be able to go back to school.

�鶹APP�People are nothing without education,�鶹APP� says the shy teenager, who has not been in a classroom since her family fled the southern Syrian province of Daraa three and a half years ago.

�鶹APP�I wish God would grant one wish to me and my siblings �鶹APP� that he opens the door for us to go to school,�鶹APP� she told AFP.

Mariam and her siblings are among more than 250,000 Syrian refugee children in Lebanon who are not in school, according to a (HRW).

�鶹APP�The high number of refugee children out of school is an immediate crisis,�鶹APP� the New York-based watchdog warned. �鶹APP�Some have never stepped inside a classroom.�鶹APP�

The problem is particularly acute among those aged 15 to 18, just 3% of whom were enrolled in Lebanon�鶹APP�s public schools during the 2015-2016 school year, according to HRW.

Students at Mtien school in Lebanon use a tablet provided by �鶹APP as part of the Technology in Classrooms project

And the crisis continues despite the efforts of the Lebanese government and international donors to increase enrolment among the more than one million Syrians who have taken refuge in the country since the war began in March 2011.

A World at School and our parent children�鶹APP�s charity have been highlighting the plight of Syrian refugee children for some time.

At least 2.8 million of them are out of school in Syria and in neighbouring countries Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq.

Thanks in part to pressure from A World at School�鶹APP�s supporters, in Lebanon this school year through an innovative double-shift system.

�鶹APP is also working with the Lebanese education ministry aimed at supporting Lebanese and Syrian children�鶹APP�s school attendance and achievement through provision of milk and a daily healthy school snack, and through integrating technology into the classroom.

In February, world leaders at the Supporting Syria and the Region conference in London in the coming academic year. But time is running out and the international community needs to step up to keep that pledge.

In Qab Elias, in Lebanon�鶹APP�s eastern Bekaa Valley, dozens of informal refugee camps are full of children who are getting no education.

�鶹APP�I can�鶹APP�t describe how tough it feels. It�鶹APP�s really hard,�鶹APP� said Mariam�鶹APP�s 18-year-old brother Ismael, who has not been to school since the eighth grade.

�鶹APP�I long to go back to school�鶹APP� I really miss my friends and the teachers.�鶹APP�

Their father Imad al-Din said he simply could not afford to send his children to school. He added: �鶹APP�We�鶹APP�ve been in Lebanon for three and a half years and none of my children have been to school here.

�鶹APP�Our financial situation doesn�鶹APP�t allow it and so far I haven�鶹APP�t received help from anyone.

�鶹APP�My wife and I feel terrible that we haven�鶹APP�t managed to send them to school. I�鶹APP�m so afraid for their future if they don�鶹APP�t get an education.�鶹APP�

Many refugees in Lebanon cite fees as a hurdle to enrolling their children, despite a Lebanese government policy waiving admission fees for primary school children.��

The issue illustrates what HRW calls a key problem �鶹APP� that Lebanese government policies intended to increase refugee school enrolment are being unevenly implemented and in some cases ignored.

The government has allowed refugees to enrol in schools without proof of residency, waived primary school fees, and opened up afternoon �鶹APP�second shifts�鶹APP� for Syrian children.

But refugees describe school administrators demanding documentation or fees that they cannot provide, or refusing to create second shifts.

HRW also documented a range of additional barriers, including the cost of transportation for students, bullying and harassment, and insufficient spaces and teachers to accommodate Syrian refugees.

Syrian refugee Nizar, 10, has never been to school since arriving in Lebanon in 2011 �鶹APP� he sells gum on the street to help support his family Picture: HRW

Many families are also constrained by their expired residency permits, which are costly to renew. Without papers, they are afraid to move around or send their children to school for fear of arrest.

The group also noted that the Lebanese government was continuing to prevent Syrian teachers from working, despite a shortage of Lebanese teachers.

Abdulkarim al-Salem, a local leader in one Qab Elias informal camp, said Lebanon should open up schools just for refugees inside the settlements.

�鶹APP�In this camp alone, there are 180 children who don�鶹APP�t go to school, because there are no schools that can take in this number,�鶹APP� Salem told AFP.

�鶹APP�Even if they could enrol in local schools, the route to the schools is along a main road and it isn�鶹APP�t safe.�鶹APP�

HRW urged the Lebanese government to ensure better application of its existing policies. But it also called for additional measures, including exploring the possibility of hiring Syrian teachers and allowing Syrians to renew expired residency documents for free.

It urged donors to provide additional funding for expanding and rehabilitating schools, hiring teachers, and subsidising student transportation.

�鶹APP�It is unlikely that Syrian children will be able to realise their right to an education unless Lebanon undertakes reforms that go beyond the framework of its current education policies and receives increased donor funding,�鶹APP� HRW said.

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