Mitigating the educational toll of the war

The escalation of conflict in Lebanon has severely disrupted education nationwide. MERATH-supported learning centers, serving around 1,200 children across multiple locations, have had to adapt quickly to maintain continuity of learning. Some centers have reopened with strict safety measures, allowing students to attend in-person classes. Others remain closed due to high security risks, with teachers providing lessons remotely through videos, WhatsApp, and home-based activities. For many students, especially those from vulnerable communities living in overcrowded homes with limited internet access, online learning remains extremely challenging, and the situation continues to place a significant strain on students’ stability and mental health. 

The educational toll of the war

Four weeks of conflict in Lebanon has radically disrupted schooling for hundreds of thousands of children, including students at education centers supported by MERATH. Since the start of the war between Hezbollah and Israel on March 2, fighting and evacuation orders have displaced more than 1 million people, including some 370,000 children, according to UN officials. 

Conflict has reshaped daily life across much of the country, and the scale of displacement has placed immense strain on children and families already grappling with repeated cycles of conflict. “The mental and emotional exhaustion weighing on the children of Lebanon is just devastating,” UNICEF representative Marcoluigi Corsi recently said. “There is no safe place for people to go.” 

At least 121 children have been killed and hundreds more injured since the war began. Meanwhile, more than 660 collective shelters, mainly schools, are now housing displaced families, disrupting education for an estimated 150,000 students. During the first week of the conflict, all schools across the country closed, including our partner learning centers. The second week, they were faced with the difficult decision to re-open or stay closed. 

Maintaining education in-person or remotely 

In and near Zahle, the capital of Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa Valley, our partner education centers serving 530 students decided to resume in-person learning following coordination with local authorities and the implementation of security measures. Attendance remains dependent on case-by-case decisions, particularly for those traveling from outside the immediate area. So far, the centers have recorded full attendance.  “Despite successfully reopening, we assess the situation daily and remain on high alert due to the escalation in the country.” said the coordinator of the learning center. 

In contrast, other MERATH-supported learning centers in the Beqaa remain closed due to their proximity to high-risk areas previously affected by heavy bombardment. The security situation continues to pose significant risks. Recently, three of our students there were injured by shrapnel near their homes. All received medical treatment and are currently recovering.  

Due to their critical locations, these centers have transitioned fully to remote learning. Through recorded videos, online and WhatsApp-based sessions, educators reconnect and follow-up with students and their families individually, using shorter, flexible lessons to accommodate unstable connectivity and living conditions. 

However, access to lessons remains a major challenge. Many students, primarily Syrian refugees, live in overcrowded conditions with limited connectivity and devices. In some cases, multiple children share a single phone, which significantly constrains their ability to engage in lessons. Many parents are unable to support their children’s learning due to limited educational attainment or illiteracy, further restricting children’s ability to study.  The coordinator of a learning center that had to stay closed shared:

Even though online learning is not the best option in normal times, it still allows us to stay in touch with our students and their families in times of conflict, and it is better than putting children and their families at risk by coming to the center.

Caring for our students beyond academics

Despite these efforts, remote learning cannot fully replace the protective and structured environment of the classroom. Our learning centers serve not only as spaces for education, but also as critical points of stability, social interaction, emotional development, and psychosocial support. Prolonged disruption affects not only academic progress, but also children’s well-being, sense of routine, and discipline, as we have previously experienced in 2024 and during the COVID-related lockdowns. Beyond immediate learning loss, the repeated closures and shifts to remote learning strain both students and educators and threaten long-term educational outcomes and psychosocial well-being of affected communities. 

To mitigate this, therapists are addressing the impact of the conflict with students that can attend in-person and provide them with the necessary support. For those continuing remotely, educators are preparing socio-emotional learning activities, encouraging children to create safe spaces at home and express themselves through drawing and writing. In addition, some centers offer online group sessions for adolescents focused on emotional well-being, safety awareness, and positive coping strategies through guided discussions, activities, and relaxation techniques. 

Despite the many challenges we are once again faced with, MERATH and its partners remain committed to ensuring continuity of education and psychosocial support for students, whether through in-person, remote, or adapted programming.