100,000 Syrian children to fall out of education after massive 'shortfall' at donor conference

Some 100,000 Syrian children will fall out of full-time education as schools in the war-torn country see international aid slashed, a Syria-focused charity has said.

A report released at the end of April by Action For Humanity, the parent charity of UK NGO Syria Relief, found that more than 40,000 children were no longer in education specifically due to "a loss of funding from the UK government".

A few days later, NGOs expressed disappointment at the lack of aid pledged at the sixth EU-led aid international aid conference for Syria, which took place on Tuesday. The conference raised $6.7 billion for Syria and neighbouring countries but saw a massive shortfall in the amount requested by NGOs.

"It seems that, yet again, the international community has all but forgotten children in Syria… who urgently need funding for their survival, learning and protection," Save the Children Syria Response Office Director Sonia Khush said following the international aid conference for Syria.

"$6.7 billion is woefully inadequate and falls far short of what is required to support the 6.5 million children in Syria, as well as Syrian children in neighbouring countries," Kush continued.

Action for Humanity said the UK government's decision last year to reduce overseas aid spending from 0.7 percent to 0.5 percent has contributed to the potential education crisis, which they say is likely to have a disastrous effect.

"There will be a close-to-immediate rise in child labour, child marriage, early pregnancies, child conscription to military and armed groups, child exploitation and child trafficking," the charity said in its report.

"Parents are openly admitting to considering sending their children to work or forcing their girls into early marriages if they are unable to attend school," they said.

Syria Relief and Action for Humanity said 133 of the schools they run have had to close in the space of less than one year.

They called on the UK government to "immediately reverse the aid budget cuts and ringfence funding for Syria".

Following the 2011 Syrian uprising, which saw President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime brutally crack down on pro-democracy protesters, Syria has suffered a devastating economic crisis.

Hundreds of thousands - mostly civilians - have been killed in the regime's vicious assault on opposition areas.

Around 80 percent of Syrians have been plunged into poverty, with many still facing starvation.