School dropout rises in Syria amid poverty and child labor

School dropout in Syria does not appear limited to any particular province or area, but extends across different parts of the country. Economic and social pressures and difficult living conditions are pushing some families to take their children out of school and send them to work, particularly during basic education.

Hama and its countryside provide an example of the phenomenon, with indications that the number of children who have dropped out of education has increased as the new school year began, while civil society organizations were distributing stationery and school supplies to students in need.

According to a social counselor at a local association in Hama, the organizations overseeing the distribution of aid asked families to provide documents proving that their children remained enrolled in school. However, a number of families were either unable or unwilling to provide such documents. According to the source, this revealed a significant number of children who were out of school.

The source attributed the situation to several factors, including difficult economic conditions, repeated displacement and relocation of families, and the need for some households to secure additional income. These pressures push families to send their children into work that is unsuitable for their age, at the expense of their continued education.

In Hama, teacher Kamal Sabsabi said a number of children were heading to work in the industrial zone to help support their families amid rising living costs and prices of basic goods and fuel. He said the problem was worsening in the absence of sufficient measures to address it.

Teacher Mufid Jundi said reducing dropout rates requires clear legal measures to protect children from entering the labor market, alongside addressing the economic and social causes that push families to take their children out of school. He also called for awareness campaigns on the importance of education and the risks of child labor, with cooperation between government institutions and civil society organizations.

The indicators are not limited to Hama. International data show that Syria's education crisis remains widespread. UNICEF reported in its annual report published in July 2026 that around 2.45 million children were out of school in 2025, while more than one million additional children were at risk of dropping out. Thousands of schools also remained unfit for use.

UNICEF linked children remaining out of school to increased risks of child labor, early marriage and other forms of exploitation, while high poverty rates and difficult living conditions continue to affect families' ability to keep their children in education.

Syrian Minister of Education and Teaching Mohamed Abdel Rahman Turko previously said around 2.5 million children were outside the education system, noting that most cases of dropout were linked to economic factors, particularly child labor. He said an improvement in economic conditions would help reduce dropout rates.

In the latest official presentation on the state of education before Parliament on Sept. 14, Turko estimated the number of students who had dropped out at around two million, attributing the phenomenon to economic and social factors, as well as the lack of schools in some areas. He said the ministry was working with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the government team to address the economic and social causes of dropout.

The measures presented by the minister to address learning loss, return children to school and introduce flexible education programs include the “Category B” curriculum for students who have dropped out or fallen behind academically. The program allows students to complete two academic years in one year, with the aim of helping them return to formal education. The ministry also allows conditional admission for some returning students and administers placement tests when school records are unavailable.

This comes as the Ministry of Education expects the number of students in Syrian schools during the current academic year to reach around six million, compared with approximately 5.3 million last year. The minister said the increase was linked, among other factors, to the return of refugees and displaced people and students who had previously been out of school.

The data indicate that addressing school dropout requires more than simply reopening schools or expanding their capacity. It also requires tackling the factors that drive children to leave school, foremost among them poverty and child labor, as well as rehabilitating damaged schools and providing an educational environment capable of accommodating students who have dropped out and those returning to education.

The situation of around 20 percent of children who have dropped out of school, according to rights groups in Hama and its countryside, remains an example of a broader problem facing Syrian families. For some children, work is shifting from a temporary option to an alternative to school, increasing the need for integrated economic, social and educational measures to ensure their return to classrooms and continued attendance.

ANHA