assistance. As for the refugees from Gaza, about 159,100 of them are in need of emergency cash assistance to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.295 The 29,000 PRS in Lebanon are also extremely vulnerable, whereby 87.3 percent are living below the absolute poverty line and 11.3 percent exist in a state of abject poverty. Additionally, 73 percent of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are living in poverty, and 162,301 are in need of emergency cash assistance.296 UNRWA statistics estimate that, as of April 2022, approximately 438,000 Palestinian refugees remain in Syria, 82 percent of whom are living on less than $1.90 a day, and 420,000 are in need of cash and in-kind food assistance.297 According to UNRWA records, women account for 60 per cent of the most vulnerable refugee caseload in Syria.298 Moreover, up to 280,000 PRS are currently internally displaced inside Syria and about 145,000 Palestine refugees are identified as extremely vulnerable. 2.3.2.3. Education and Literacy Rates Education is highly valued in the face of the protracted nature of the Palestinian refugee crisis. It is seen both as an opportunity for a better life and as a means of reaffirming identity. Most refugees benefit from elementary and preparatory education provided by UNRWA schools, which is usually provided until the age of 16, with the exception of Lebanon, where it is provided until the age of 18. Other refugees attend public schools in their host countries, while few of them study in private schools. Access to secondary and higher (tertiary) education is restricted in some host countries, with requirements such as payment of fees at the foreign-student rate. Financial constraints, among other impediments, prevent some refugees from continuing their education (see Chapter 4: Palestinian Refugees in Host States and the International Responsibility, for country-specific information). Nearly all refugee children are enrolled at the elementary stage, and no statistical differences exist between male and female enrollment at the elementary and preparatory stages. For the scholastic year 2021/2022, about 545,000 students were recorded as enrolled in 702 UNRWA schools across the five regions (278 in Gaza Strip, 161 in Jordan, 102 in Syria, 96 in the West Bank and 65 in Lebanon). About 65 percent of pupils are enrolled in elementary schools (351,000 pupils), and one third are enrolled in preparatory education (187,400 thousand pupils), while enrolment in secondary schools is marginal as it is applicable only to Lebanon UNRWA schools (6,320 students). Moreover, eight vocational training centers are functioning under the supervision of UNRWA, which are currently educating 8,000 295 UNRWA, ‘Syria, Lebanon and Jordan Emergency Appeal 2022’ (2022), 8 [hereinafter UNRWA 2022 Emergency Appeal] <https://www.unrwa.org/sites/default/files/content/resources/2022_slj_ea_eng_final.pdf> accessed 3 October 2022. 296 Ibid. 297 UNRWA, ‘Syria - Humanitarian Snapshot, March & April 2022’ (2022) [hereinafter UNRWA, Syria Humanitarian Snapshot] <https://www.unrwa.org/sites/default/files/content/resources/syria_-_humanitarian_snapshot_march_ april_2022.pdf> accessed 3 October 2022. 298 UNRWA 2022 Emergency Appeal (n 295). 60