Thousands more children are being deprived of an education as the crisis worsens in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
To date, 330,000 more children are now out of school, with the risk that many will never return, reveals UNICEF in a press release issued on Monday, February 17, 2025.
In the face of intensifying violence and displacement in eastern DRC, UNICEF is calling for emergency measures to save the school year for hundreds of thousands of children.
“Even before this latest escalation of the conflict, the education system in the east of the country was already under immense pressure, not least because of the high number of displaced people. Over 6.5 million people, including 2.6 million children, have been forced to flee their homes in the region.
Since the beginning of the year, violent clashes have led to the closure of more than 2,500 schools and learning spaces in the provinces of North and South Kivu, including those in IDP camps”, says UNICEF.
According to the source, “between schools closed, damaged, destroyed or turned into shelters, 795,000 children are now deprived of education – up from 465,000 in December 2024”.
Including the province of Ituri, over 1.6 million children in eastern DRC are currently out of school.
“The situation is catastrophic for these children. It is education – and all the support it offers – that enables children to return to a semblance of normal life, to rebuild themselves and look to the future after this conflict”, warns Jean-Francois Basse, UNICEF’s interim Representative in the DRC.
Although Goma’s schools reopened on February 10, 2025, very few pupils have resumed classes, with many parents fearing that the security situation remains too dangerous.
In times of crisis, schools play a fundamental role in maintaining stability and providing a safe space that protects children from possible recruitment by armed groups or sexual violence.Schools can also offer traumatized children access to psychosocial support.
UNICEF supports the continuity of education in Eastern DRC by working with partners to set up temporary learning spaces and distribute school materials and hygiene and sanitation kits.
Agnès KAYEMBE