Date: Nov 21, 2018 Source: The Daily Star EU announces 100M euros for schools in Lebanon BEIRUT: Ahead of Universal Children’s Day Tuesday, European Union officials announced a commitment of 100 million euros ($115 million) in new funding for Lebanese schools and other education programs through 2021. The bulk of the aid, 80 million euros, will go toward public school operations, including covering student enrollment fees in primary education, teacher salaries and maintenance of school infrastructure, officials said. The remainder will be split between nonformal education programs and projects to enhance the quality of education in Lebanese schools, such as the introduction of new teaching methods, and toward monitoring and data collection efforts by the Education Ministry. Before the announcement of the new aid package, the European Union had given 228 million euros to education programs since 2012, in addition to separate contributions by individual member states, officials said. EU Ambassador Christina Lassen said in a statement that the new funding is “the biggest package ... the European Union has provided to the education sector in Lebanon so far.” “Together, the European Union and [Education Ministry] will continue working to strengthen the capacities of the public education system, in order to deliver inclusive and quality education for all children in Lebanon,” she said. “Education of children and youth is a fundamental human right. Education is crucial to development and to build peaceful societies.” International aid has flowed into the Lebanese public education system since the beginning of the Syrian refugee crisis, which has brought hundreds of millions of Syrian children into the country. With international funding, the Education Ministry opened a “second shift” for non-Lebanese children in the country’s public schools. However, at the beginning of the school year, education officials projected a funding gap of $28 million in school enrollment programs and said that the number of children who can be registered would have to be capped at the same number as last year, in spite of the fact that an estimated 36 percent of Syrian children in Lebanon aged 6-14 still remain out of formal schooling.