Back to Contents Due to COVID-19, UNRWA schools and VTCs closed in all 5 UNRWA fields of operation in March 2020, and the Agency had to reconceptualise its overall Education in Emergency (EiE) approach to support learning continuity. The focus was on supporting learning remotely. However, a May 2020 phone-based survey conducted by UNRWA found that although 96 per cent of UNRWA students have at least one internet-capable device, only 57 per cent of them are able to use a smartphone on a daily basis. Minimal gender differences were found in smartphone use overall in younger children (grades 1 to 6), but they increased with age, with girls using smartphones more than boys on average, across all fields of operation. The Agency is aiming to conduct a survey directly with students in early 2021 to verify whether there may be any gender gaps in access to technology or remote learning which may affect students’ educational outcomes. UNRWA is also currently reviewing results on key indicators such as dropout and grade repetition in 2020 to identify any trends of concern for boys and girls. The start of the new 2020/21 school year continued to be uncertain regarding the possible modalities of learning (i.e. remote, face to face, or hybrid/blended) amidst the constantly-evolving context of COVID-19. In Jordan, the school year began with a blended learning modality and then moved to full remote learning. In Lebanon, the school year started using a hybrid/blended learning modality, with some shifts to fully remote. The West Bank followed the hybrid/blended model. Syria was the sole UNRWA field where students returned to full school-based, face-to-face learning. In Gaza, the school year started through remote learning, then shifted to the hybrid model, but eventually went back to being fully remote. […] It must be noted that the COVID-19 pandemic may impact girls’ and boys’ education differently. For girls, challenges may arise due to parental concerns surrounding their safety, or to social and economic difficulties leading girls to drop out from schools to assist in housework or be married early. In Lebanon, for example, women reported an increase in child marriages as a negative coping mechanism in the face of economic burden. Boys, on the other hand, may drop out from school to help support their family economically. A rapid impact assessment conducted by UNRWA in Syria, for example, revealed that, due to challenges in covering basic needs, negative coping strategies such as child labour have emerged: 8 per cent of Palestine refugee households reported that children below 18 are working, with no relevant gender differences noted. Both boys and girls may face challenges in staying safe online, and both may have higher exposure risks to domestic violence.” (Source: UNRWA, UNRWA Gender Equality Strategy 2016-2021: annual implementation report January-December 2020, May 2021, pp. 10-11) 8. Access to education for children 84