Schooling in times of conflict

Peace on a global scale seems like a utopian dream, far removed from a far more disappointing reality. Since the winter of 2022, the eyes of the world have obviously been focused on the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. We forget that other regions of the world are experiencing tense situations where belligerents are constantly fighting. In such an unstable context, daily life cannot continue as normal, and millions of children find themselves out of school.

School, a semblance of normalcy in wartime

In the Sahel, for example, clashes with jihadist groups are threatening the existence of schools and the teachers themselves. Many refuse to continue in this career at the risk of death. Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the highest rates of non-enrolment in the world. Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Uganda, among others, are grappling with unstable and violent situations that force children to stay at home.

While Ukrainian refugees have found schools in European and Western countries to welcome them, this movement is not turning its attention to African countries, whose young people also have a right to education. The issue of the right to education is fundamental in these countries, and is enshrined in the UN Charter of Human Rights, and often in the laws of these same countries. Almost an entire generation is deprived, in part, of education because of the scuffles. Learning in an environment such as a school helps to partially reduce the effects of the traumas experienced during these periods of instability. What's more, these establishments are in a position to offer water, food and sanitation facilities more easily than in their own homes.

In 1996, the United Nations General Assembly decreed that :

Educational programs (in conflict zones) should aim to support healing processes and establish a sense of normalcy. This should include the establishment of daily routines of family and community life, opportunities for self-expression and structured activities such as teaching, play and sport.

Despite instincts that would give the impression that education is the lowest priority when bullets and bombs are falling, it is more than essential that governments and parents fight to provide an educational framework for children and adolescents. In Mali, the ongoing conflict has forced families and governments to take action.

Planning and cooperation on all sides

Oumar Gouro Diall, a Malian education expert working for CIEF (Centre international d'expertises et de formation), explains in this interview conducted in April 2022 that the education decentralization program had to be greatly adapted. Indeed, with the crisis since 2012, they have been forced to create school environments in villages not affected by the scuffles. In addition, they have had to establish a link with religious leaders to get the message across to soldiers and avoid armed reprisals.

In some places, therefore, a Koranic school had to be added, teaching Arabic and separating boys and girls in rows in the classrooms. At the request of parents fearful of the values learned at school, courses were set up to pass on local knowledge by local shepherds, stockbreeders and fishermen.

The issue of educational planning in conflict zones is paramount. In 2017, UNESCO produced a document on the steps to be taken in countries where war breaks out. To back up their words, they analyzed situations in Burkina Faso, South Sudan and Uganda. Each of these countries followed these different steps:

1. Analysis: Specialists observe the risks of the conflict or disaster, its effect on education, risk reduction, etc.
   
   
2. Strategy development: Leaders ensure school safety (e.g., by declaring zones of peace or security), adjust curricula and develop equity policies.
   
   
3. Preparing the plan: Prepare teachers and staff for emergencies linked to these conflicts and also for the realities they will encounter in the field(psychosocial support) and relocate or renovate schools depending on the context.
   
   
4. Funding: We need to ensure that schools receive sufficient funding, both from governments and from humanitarian aid.
   
   
5. Monitoring and evaluation: In addition to planning for adequate teaching, those in charge must also take into account the number of attacks, the EMIS (Education Management Information System) and other indicators.

This approach must be carried out by the affected country and not by external sources, according to the UNESCO document. By adding the participation of all, including the various rival camps, this facilitates to some extent the implementation of education in conflict zones.

In an ideal world, wars would not exist and all these strategies would be unnecessary. In the meantime, while we wait for generations less focused on violence, it seems necessary for warring territories to put tactics in place to create not only opportunities for children to learn, but havens of peace away from the shooting.

References

"Acting for the right to education of all children." BICE - ONG De Protection Des Droits De L'enfant. Last updated: January 10, 2023. https://bice.org/fr/actions-de-terrain/domaines-daction/le-bice-une-association-qui-agit-pour-le-droit-a-leducation-de-tous-les-enfants/.

Berthe, Mohamed. "Le droit à l'éducation des enfants en période de conflit au Mali." Revues de l'ACAREF. Last updated March 2021. https://revues.acaref.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/03/Mohamed-BERTHE-1__le-droit-a-leducation.pdf.

"Education in the crisis countries of sub-Saharan Africa, still many challenges to overcome." Afreek'Ed France. last updated May 29, 2021. https://afreekedfrance.org/leducation-dans-les-pays-en-crise-de-lafrique-subsaharienne-encore-de-nombreux-defis-a-relever/.

Ortega, Marina P. "The importance of children's right to education in armed conflict." Humanium. last updated June 14, 2022. https://www.humanium.org/fr/limportance-du-droit-a-leducation-des-enfants-dans-les-conflits-armes/.

"Planning education with sensitivity to conflict and risk: what lessons from three cases?" UNESCO. Last updated 2017. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000247146_fre.

Sovon, Jean, and Patrick Degbevi. "In the Sahel, school teachers are under constant jihadist threat." Global Voices. last updated June 20, 2023. https://fr.globalvoices.org/2023/06/20/279780/.

"New school housing state reception classes opens in Kirchberg." Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. Last updated September 26, 2022. https://maee.gouvernement.lu/fr/actualites.gouvernement%2Bfr%2Bactualites%2Btoutes_actualites%2Bcommuniques%2B2022%2B09-septembre%2B26-nouvelle-ecole-classes-accueil-kirchberg.html.

"Innocent children must stay out of the conflict". Un Seul Monde. Last updated April 2022. https://www.eine-welt.ch/fr/2022/edition-4/dossier-innocents-les-enfants-doivent-rester-en-dehors-du-conflit.