Anglophone crises: about 2,245 Schools still not functioning
Anglophone crises: about 2,245 Schools still not functioning
The United Nation’s office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which rewrites these figures published by the Norwegian Refugee Council (in June 2023), in its report of October 27th 2023, also counts more than 13 attacks on the education sector between January and July 2023 .
Contained in their situation report of the 27th of October 2023, on the crisis situation in Cameroon, The United Nation’s office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), states that about 2,245 schools in the North West and South West regions are still not functioning. These are figures that its partner, the Norwegian Refugee Council, had already published on June 6, 2023. According to this OCHA report, between January and July 2023, at least 13 violent incidents against education were reported, including the abduction of children and teachers.
Today, « there are almost 667,000 school-age children in these regions who need educational assistance », reads the report. All the more so because, « in September (2023, ed. note), during the two-week lockdown (September 4-17) called by non-state armed groups (NSAG), schools were forced to close and several people were killed, abducted or physically assaulted for not respecting the lockdown ».
OCHA reports that at the end of last academic year, several schools that had been operating, were forced to close their doors . « By the end of the 2022-2023 academic year, thousands of schools were closed in Cameroon, either due to the risk of attacks by non-state armed groups, lack of teachers fleeing insecurity, fear of parents and/or forced displacement.”
Since the escalation of the socio-political crisis in the North-West and South-West regions into an armed conflict, the education sector has suffered many losses . Many still remember the case of Bantar Samuel, a primary school teacher in Nkambe, in the North-West region, killed on February 16, 2023 for taking part in activities marking the celebration of the Youth Day.
Recently, that is on September 4, 2023, Ajeck Hilda, a form three student at government secondary school Kake in the southwest region, was killed by a stray bullet . This was the result of an exchange of fire between militias of a separatist group and security forces on the day of the start of the school year for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Rex Afon (Intern)
