UNICEF: 2m Syrian children lack basic education

As the Syrian crisis raised fear of a 'lost generation,' it was revealed on Friday that 2 million Syrian kids lacked basic education. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson Marixie Mercado held a press conference at the United Nations Geneva Office. Mercado said that the 30-month-old crisis nurtured anger, fear and disappointment among Syrian children, adding that "the danger of the 'lost generation' became chronic everyday that they are out of school." Mercado said that there would be 500,000 refugee children in Lebanon, according to projections, but underlined that only 15 percent of them would be able to attend private or state schools. She noted the huge number of refugee children in Jordan were also not able to attend school. The spokesperson also revealed that refugee children in Iraq were faced with a worse situation as the schooling rate among refugees in Iraq was only 10 percent. On the other hand, Mercado didn't mention any data regarding refugee children in Turkey. Mercado said UNICEF supported educational programs including self-education in the conflict zones in Syria.