EU launches largest ever education programme in Turkey for 230,000 refugee children to attend school

The €34 million 'Conditional Cash Transfer for Education' (CCTE) project will provide bimonthly cash-transfers as of May 2017 to vulnerable refugee families whose children regularly attend school. The project will be implemented in partnership with UNICEF i and its partner, the Turkish Red Crescent in support of the Government of Turkey.

"The EU i is committed to supporting refugee children in Turkey and beyond. Education in emergency situations is a top EU priority. Our moral duty is to save this generation of refugees children and invest in their future. We have teamed up with experienced humanitarian organisations to make this programme a real success." said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos i Stylianides.

The new education project builds upon the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) programme, which was launched by the European Commission in September 2016 to provide a debit card to the most vulnerable refugees so they can pay for essential needs like food and shelter.

“I am very glad that the Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilai) Card is changing the lives of Syrian children who are our guests.” The President of the Turkish Red Crescent, Kerem Kinik, stated. “I thank the European Union and UNICEF for their joint effort for Syrian students in Turkey. In order not to have a lost generation in our region, the whole world should do whatever it can. In this respect, I consider this project as a very important one.”

The contract with UNICEF comes on top of €517 million already contracted for humanitarian aid and increases the total amount contracted for humanitarian and non-humanitarian actions under the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey to €1.5 billion. Out of this, €777 million has been disbursed to date.

Background:

Turkey is currently host to more than three million refugees, almost half of whom are children. Education for school-age children is a key challenge, with 500,000 children enrolled in formal education across the country (in Turkish schools and Temporary Education Centres), while an estimated 370,000 remain out of school.

The Conditional Cash Transfer for Education programme

In order to improve access to education for vulnerable children in both Turkish public schools and Temporary Education Centres (TECs), the CCTE will support the integration of refugee children into the existing national programme, which has been formally open to foreigners in Turkey since 1986.

This CCTE programmewill build upon the expertise of the Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Policy and the Ministry of National Education with the support of the Directorate General for Migration Management and under the coordination ofthe Turkish National Disaster Management Authority. Turkey's Integrated Social Assistance Information System will serve to integrate this education project with government systems. The CCTE project has been designed to uphold the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence while being anchored on sustainable government systems with countrywide reach.

The project includes a strategic child protection component in order to ensure that children enrolled in the programme will remain in school by providing those at risk of dropping out special attention and refer them to specialized services as required.

The CCTE is funded by the € 3 billion available by the EU and its Member States under the “EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey (2016-2017)” to provide assistance to refugees and host communities in Turkey. It is designed to promote school enrolment and attendance and is complimentary to the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) launched by the European Commission in September 2016.

For more information:

FACTSHEET: The Facility for Refugees in Turkey

FACTCHEET: EU humanitarian aid to Turkey

Website: The Facility for Refugees in Turkey

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