Keeping education alive in strife zones

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) has announced a long-overdue initiative to improve the prospects of children of school-going age in countries that are in the grip of humanitarian crises. It has announced plans for creation of a new emergency education fund, called ‘Education Cannot Wait.’ The planned fund is expected to raise some $4 billion over five years to reach 13.6 million children in need of education in countries that are war-torn or suffering the impact of disasters. According to Unicef figures, a quarter of all the world’s children in the 3-18 age group, that is, 462 million live in countries that are affected by humanitarian crises. Seventy-five million of these are in desperate need of educational support and it is to meet this need that Unicef is setting up the emergency fund.

It is well known that when children stay away from school for even a year, they are unlikely to return. In war zones, the poor security situation, war trauma and displacement are among the reasons for students staying away from education. In Syria, which is in the grip of a civil war for the past 5 years, some 6,000 schools are non functional. Often in areas of natural and man-made disasters, the physical infrastructure of schools is destroyed. This is the case in Nepal for instance, where a powerful earthquake last year flattened thousands of buildings including schools. In conflict zones, often troops are housed in schools or insurgents use schools and children as ‘human shields.’ This makes schools targets of attack by both sides.

Education provides an important foundation for children. It enhances their job and other opportunities and plays an important role in the development of their knowledge, personalities, skills etc. During war and disaster, countries lose their physical and social capital. By keeping children in schools through a period of war, we are investing in the future of not only these children but also that of society. School education is an important part of the reconstruction and rehabilitation process and necessary for a lasting peace. Importantly, schools can be safe zones for children. By keeping them in schools, we can prevent children from being conscripted into armies or trafficked. Going to school daily provides children with a routine that keeps them diverted from the horrors of war. Unicef’s ‘Education Cannot Wait’ initiative underscores the importance of keeping education alive through a period of upheaval. Education cannot be a topic that is addressed after stability returns but an issue that deserves our attention now. Countries must donate generously to make this laudable initiative a success.