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Insecurity in Burkina Faso robs 'one million students' of school

More than 5,700 schools remain shut in the West African country, affecting over one million students as well as 28,000 teachers, Save the Children reports.

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"These closures represent about 22 percent of educational facilities in Burkina Faso. They affect 1,008,327 pupils," Save the Children says.

More than 5,700 schools have been closed in Burkina Faso due to the security situation, with one million pupils denied access to education, the charity Save the Children has said.

"Burkina Faso has just passed the dramatic mark of one million children affected by the closure of schools due to the security crisis," the NGO said in a statement on Wednesday.

The new figure is double that announced by the government earlier this year.

Since 2017, armed groups have targeted teachers and schools in Burkina Faso, proclaiming their opposition to Western education and government institutions.

"These closures represent about 22 percent of educational facilities in Burkina Faso. They affect 1,008,327 pupils," Save the Children said, citing the latest report by the government's Technical Secretariat for Education in Emergency Situations.

Thousands of teachers affected

According to the Education Ministry, more than 28,000 teachers have been affected by the school closures.

"For now, and given the urgency, it is essential for governments, donors and the humanitarian community to find and finance immediate alternative solutions to mitigate the risks linked to this situation," said Benoit Delsarte, country director of Save the Children.

"In addition to depriving children of their right to education and intellectual development, the closure of classes exposes them to many other risks that permanently compromise their well-being and future."

For more than seven years, civilians and soldiers in the West African nation have faced increasingly frequent militant attacks, particularly in the north and east, which have killed thousands and forced some two million people to flee their homes.

Captain Ibrahim Traore, who took over as president after a military coup, said he wanted to "reconquer the territory occupied by hordes of terrorists".

It was the second coup in Burkina Faso in eight months, with the putsch leaders repeatedly citing the deteriorating security situation.

SOURCE: AFP