Children In War Zones Are At Risk Of Losing Their Future, Due To Lack Of Access To Education

Nearly one in four children growing up in conflict zones are missing out on education, with South Sudan, Niger, Sudan and Afghanistan the worst-affected countries, UN children's agency UNICEF says.

An estimated 24 million children of school age were out of school in 22 countries affected by conflict, according to the agency's research.

South Sudan has the largest proportion of children out of school, 51 per cent, followed by 47 per cent in Niger, 41 per cent in Sudan and 40 per cent in Afghanistan.

"When children are not in school, they are at an increased danger of abuse, exploitation and recruitment into armed groups," UNICEF's head of education, Jo Bourne, said.

"School equips children with the knowledge and skills they need to rebuild their communities once the conflict is over and, in the short-term, it provides them with the stability and structure required to cope with the trauma they have experienced."

Attacks on Schools

Schools and universities in many countries including Yemen, Syria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Nigeria and Kenya have come under attack during conflicts in recent years.

Schools have been bombed in Yemen and Syria, children have been abducted from schools in South Sudan and Nigeria, and in many other conflicts schools have been attacked or used as bases for armed groups, or as places to recruit child soldiers.

At the Oslo Conference on Safe Schools in May this year, governments began endorsing a declaration on safe schools, which commits them to protect education from attack.

A coalition of Nigerian business leaders , the Global Business Coalition for Education, launched an initiative to make schools safer in response to the growing number of attacks, including the kidnapping of more than 200 girls from a school in northern Nigeria by Boko Haram.

After a successful pilot in Nigeria, the scheme was extended to Pakistan, and further programmes are planned for South Sudan, Lebanon, Congo and other countries.

Education the key to prosperity

Ms Bourne said that if children grew up without an education, their future prospects were bleak.

"Unable to learn even the basic reading and writing skills, they are at risk of losing their futures and missing out on the opportunity to contribute to their economies and societies when they reach adulthood," she said.

Education is one of the least funded sectors in humanitarian appeals.

Figures from the UN cultural agency UNESCO show that in 2014, it received 2 per cent of humanitarian aid worldwide.

UNESCO said 10 times as much — an additional $2.3 billion — was needed for education in conflict zones.

UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown, along with UNICEF and other agencies, called for the establishment of a multi-million dollar humanitarian fund for education in emergencies that could be mobilised quickly in a conflict, natural disaster or other humanitarian emergency.

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