2024-09-18 14:00:00
Dsilent, empty, abandoned classrooms. Victims of the growing insecurity affecting the West and Central African region, more than 14,000 schools will close their doors in 2024 and never reopen, warns the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). The NGO is taking advantage of the international day for the protection of education against attacks to sound the alarm. There are countless children who are no longer in school. “The right of children to education must be protected while the future of an entire generation is at stake,” said the CNR, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
At school, millions of these children are potential victims. They become targets of armed groups that seek to recruit them, are subjected to labor, and are exposed to violence and sexual exploitation. “Education is under siege in West and Central Africa. The deliberate destruction of schools and denial of formal education due to conflict is nothing short of a disaster. Every day a child is out of school is the day they are robbed of their future and that of their community,” said Hasane Hamadou, CNR regional director for West and Central Africa.
A vicious circle
Unschooling represents a priceless loss of an educated generation, leading to significant socio-economic repercussions. This is a generation in great fragility. “Girls face increased risks of forced marriage and abuse, which increase gender and social inequalities,” CNR emphasized. The recruitment and release of children by armed groups exposes them to important role and exploitation, and thus perpetuate cycles of poverty and instability in the region.
Cameroon faces three complex humanitarian crises: the Lake Chad Basin conflict, the crisis in the British colonies and the impact of refugees from the Central African Republic. Since 2017, in the English regions of the West and West Coast, going to school remains “dangerous for children and teachers, due to violent attacks and threats equal to academic staff, students and infrastructure,” wrote the UN in October 2023 For the return to this school, separatist groups have ordered detention for the next two weeks and many parents do not have the courage to send their children to school. Teachers in these two areas are under serious threats. Most of them lost their lives or were kidnapped.
In the DRC, in the east of the country, violence and inter-communal conflicts have led to the closure of 1,457 schools since the beginning of 2024, affecting more than 500,000 students and teachers 12,700. Military groups continue to occupy school buildings, using them for military purposes.
The NRC calls on the international community, governments and all parties to the conflict to take immediate and lasting action to protect education. These include ending attacks and the occupation of schools, ensuring the safety of students and teachers, and providing adequate funding for education programs in conflict-affected areas.
Best in Mali, Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic
In Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR), the number of attacks on education decreased between 2022 and 2023. In Burkina Faso, around 1,300 schools reopened in 2024 in various administrative regions, accepting thousands of children allowed to return to class.
“The opening of schools in Burkina Faso and the reduction of attacks on education in Mali and the Central African Republic show that progress is possible,” said Hassane Hamadou. “We must continue this path to ensure that all children have access to quality, safe and literate education. »
In Cameroon, the beginning of this school year still brings good news. On an official visit to Yaoundé, Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO, announced the collection of 44.5 million dollars for education. They will mainly fund the modernization of school systems and the training of more than 28,000 education professionals, but also the distribution of school meals.
Finally, the Yaoundé Distance Education Center will see its activities expanded. Created in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, it has spread educational content for students living in the most remote areas of the country. The center will host the first recording studios of EDUCA-TV, the new UNESCO education channel. This channel will offer school content to prepare for exams and content on issues, such as public health, environmental protection and media and information education. It will be available for free in twenty countries in the region.
A threat called climate change
In addition to safety, it is the floods that threaten the return to school for thousands of students. Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Mali, but also the north of the Ivory Coast and Ghana are under water. In the north of Cameroon, 70,000 students are still waiting for the start of the school year, according to the UN. “For us the real question is, after the floods, what will be the condition of the receiving infrastructure,” problems Mamadou Boukar Alifa, president of the group for the development of the Mayo-Danay department in the Voice of Africa.
Floods have displaced nearly a million people in Niger, Nigeria and Mali. “These countries are already ravaged by conflict and insecurity, making the response even more difficult. It is important that help reaches those who need it quickly to prevent the situation from worsening. And we need urgent, bold global action to tackle climate change, as its impact on children becomes ever more apparent,” said Vishna Shah-Little, director of communications at Save The Children.
In the future, this includes making sure that buildings like schools are more resilient to extreme weather events, such as floods. According to Gilles Fagninou, UNICEF regional director for West and Central Africa, the worst is yet to come: “Even the worst floods are predicted for the end of the year, and which makes the situation of children and families worse in the region. »
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