BEIRUT: The United Kingdom will provide over $5 million to enable the Lebanese government to purchase 300,000 textbook packages, the UK’s International Development Secretary Justine Greening announced Tuesday during a one-day official visit.
The scheme will ensure that every child aged between 6 and 15 who attends public school has a set of textbooks covering key academic subjects. It will cover 80,000 Syrian refugee children as well as Lebanese students from host communities who are at risk of losing out.
“British assistance means every child at school in Lebanon will have their own set of books covering key subjects like maths and sciences. Lebanon has opened its doors to more than 860,000 of its neighbors and we want to help both Syrian and Lebanese children carry on going to school despite huge strains on resources,” Greening said, during a visit to the Bekaa Valley.
The packages will include textbooks covering science, literature, languages, math and other core subjects, and will be published in a mix of English, French and Arabic.
The announcement comes a day before a major U.N. humanitarian pledging conference for Syria, which will take place in Kuwait on Jan. 15. It aims to generate new funding pledges from the international community to help provide aid inside Syria and across the region.
During her visit, Greening met with Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam, where she reiterated the UK’s continued commitment to supporting Lebanon as it responds to the Syrian crisis.
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14/01/2014
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