UNICEF urges education stakeholders to invest in protective learning environment

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on Thursday, urged education stakeholders to invest in safe and protective learning environment in the North-East, noting that “one in every two children is out of school.”

The Chief of UNICEF’s Field Office in Borno, Mr Geoffrey Ijumba, made the call at a symposium titled “Endorsing Learning Culture of Protection, Safety and Resilience in Borno and Yobe Schools” held in Maiduguri.

Ijumba said the humanitarian crises in the North-East had impacted negatively on the education and development of children in the region, adding that many children were being denied access to education while many were separated from their families.

He noted that “children have continued to bear the brunt of the crisis, being abducted, killed, used as suicide bombers, raped, abused, denied access to education and separated from their families.

“If we compare primary school attendance ratio in the North-East to that of South-East, only 46 per cent of primary school-age children attend school, while school attendance in the South Eastwas 88 per cent.

`The figures are even worse for girls in the North-East. This is not acceptable. We must do more.”

The UNICEF chief explained that integrated approach must be adopted to effectively safeguard pupils from potential risk posed by insurgency.

“Safe and protective learning environment and psycho-social support are some of the critical tools. We must do more to ensure that every child is protected, enrolls and stays in safe and secure learning space.

“In our context education, can be life -saving. Education is crucial for both the protection and healthy development of girls and boys affected by crisis.

“Ensuring the protection of children’s rights in humanitarian assistance benefits not only their future, but also the future of the societies in which they live. Education plays a key role as it can give children a sense of normalcy and safety, and restore their hope for a better life.

“This symposium, therefore, is to create platform where we can formulate new course of action, together.”