Conflicts have closed 14,300 schools in 24 African countries, study finds
Millions of African children are without
education, as schools struggle to cope with the impact of armed conflict and
insecurity.
The Norwegian Refugee Council says that
as of June 2024, more than 14,300 schools were closed in 24 African countries.
Countries with the most closures were Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger.
Christelle Hure of the NRC’s Western
Central Africa office said the schools that have closed because of violence
impact an estimated 2.8 million children.
“It means that these children are
deprived of education but also more vulnerable to different protection risks,”
she said.
Aid agencies say the lack of instruction
makes it easy for the armed groups to recruit children, disrupting their
education and further decreasing their chances of ever attending classes.
The lack of schooling also makes
children vulnerable to violence and exploitation, perpetuating cycles of
poverty and instability.
The latest figure is an increase of
1,100 closures from the previous year, when 13,200 schools were closed due to
conflict and insecurity.
In some countries, conflict has nearly
overwhelmed the education system. The U.N. children's agency, UNICEF, says one
in four schools in Burkina Faso is closed.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, at
least 1,450 schools nationwide were closed as of January, affecting 500,000
students.
Risasi Mwinyi Patience, 47, a Congolese
refugee living in Uganda, and two children were among those affected by school
closures in the DR Congo. Fighting in Congo’s Ituri province claimed the life
of his wife. He fled to Uganda in April, seeking safety.
He said the Congolese school where his
children, in fourth and sixth grades, were enrolled has closed. He has enrolled
them in school in Uganda.
Hure of the NRC said the circumstances
that cause school closures vary from country to country, with three main
reasons.
“The first reason is really for military
purposes. It's about regaining or gaining control over territory,” she said.
“The second reason is schools are seen
by non-state town groups as a symbol of the government's authority,and then the
last reason is that in some cases, schools are seen as promoting ideologies
that these groups are opposed to, such as education for girls or teaching
French."
Patience said he is concerned about his
future and that of his children, who are forced to start education again due to
the language barrier. Schools in the DR Congo are taught in French but now
their school is taught in English.
He said his children have been told to
repeat classes and start from the beginning, adding further difficulty to their
life in the refugee camp.
Though the general situation remains
dire, some schools have reopened in the Central African Republic and Mali due
to improved security, and in Burkina Faso, some 1,300 schools have reopened
since October 2023, after government forces took control of some areas from
terror groups.
The Oslo-based agency calls on the
international community, governments and warring parties to protect education
by ending attacks on schools and ensuring the safety of learners and teachers.
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