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New York: The conflict in northern Mali has
disrupted the education of nearly three quarters of a million
children, the United Nations Children’s Fund said.
"The crisis in Mali has disrupted the education of some 700,000
Malian children, leaving 200,000 still with no access to school
both in the north and south of the country, according to UNICEF
and educational authorities in Mali,” UNICEF said in a statement.
“Since January 2012, 115 schools in the North were closed,
destroyed, looted,” the statement said, adding that “unexploded
bombs” had been found in some establishments. The situation has
worsened since the conflict intensified this January with France’s
intervention in Mali, UNICEF said.
“Many teachers have failed to return to the north and already
overcrowded schools in the south cannot cope with the influx of
displaced students from the north. When a teacher is afraid to
teach and when a student is afraid to go to school, the whole
education is at risk,” said Francoise Ackermans, UNICEF
Representative in Mali.
According to Malian Education Minister Bocar Moussa Diarra, only
one in three schools in the north is functioning.
“In Kidal, all
schools are closed while in Timbuktu five percent have reopened.
In Gao, only 28 percent of teachers have resumed work,” he said.
“To give new hope to those affected by the crisis, hundreds of
schools need to be built or rehabilitated, and equipped with
school canteens,” he said.
The French-led offensive in Mali is
working to drive out armed Islamist groups who took control of
towns including Gao and Timbuktu last year in the chaotic
aftermath of a coup d’etat.
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