An update issued by UNICEF highlights concern about access to education in Armenia for refugee children from Nagorno Karabakh.
The UN agency’s latest Armenia Humanitarian Situation Report notes that out of the more than 115,000 individuals who became refugees after Azerbaijani forces reconquered Karabakh in the fall of 2023, about 36,000 are children. Today, UNICEF estimates that many are falling through the educational cracks, as 16,232 refugee children were registered as enrolled in schools and another 1,617 high school-aged children in vocational programs.
UN observers “have welcomed the efforts made by the Government of Armenia, including the initiation of the project on inclusion of refugee children in the educational process by enhancing their resilience,” the UNICEF report states. But UNICEF voiced concern “about the deteriorating levels of school enrolment and attendance, especially in upper secondary education of refugee children and reduced learning outcomes such as the lack of minimum proficiency in reading faced by some children at the end of primary school.”
The report also notes that most children need mental health services. Since the start of the refugee crisis, 34,712 “children, adolescents and caregivers” have received mental health and psychosocial (MHPSS) support, according to UNICEF.
“To address the evolving needs of refugee and host community children, UNICEF regularly adjusted the scope and focus of MHPSS services,” the report states. “While general residual MHPSS needs remain, the demand has grown for specialized services (such as PTSD treatment and individual psychotherapeutic support) for both children and parents.”
Overall, roughly 76 percent of refugees are now residing in the Armenian capital or its vicinity, where they can “live in better conditions in Yerevan than in rural communities.”
(This article originally appeared on the site www.eurasianet.org on February 11.)
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