Unic Press UK: More than 25 million children have not been attending school in conflict zones across 22 countries, UNICEF said on Monday.
At the primary level, the research outcome of the highest rate of out-of-school children was that, South Sudan led the pack with 72 percent of children missing out on education; then 50 percent in Chad and 46 percent in Afghanistan. In each of the three countries, the number of girls’ out of education exceeded the number of boys’, UNICEF said.
At the lower-secondary school level, the result illustrates that the highest rates of out-of-school children were 68 percent in Niger, 60 percent in South Sudan and 55 percent in the Central African Republic.
UNICEF’s response
UNICEF, although trammeled by funding shortfalls, has been responding to the education crisis in various ways.
In Chad, “UNICEF has so far this year provided school supplies to more than 58,000 students, distributed teaching materials to more than 760 teachers, and built 151 classrooms, 101 temporary learning spaces, 52 latrines and 7 sports fields. UNICEF Chad also supported the salaries of 327 teachers for the 2016-2017 school year,” the group said Monday.
