Most war-effected children never reintegrate school, study shows
© UNESCO/M. Hofer- Many children never integrate school after war.
A new study demonstrates the impact of armed conflict on people in 25 countries of which 14 are in Africa. It reveals that conflict often has a multi-generational legacy and widens the education gap between marginalized groups, including women.
The study is published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
The African countries covered in the study are: Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, DR Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Far-reaching negative effects
The study is based on household surveys and offers a rare overview of the multifaceted effects of conflict on education.
“It is clear that for most of the countries studied, conflict had far-reaching and permanent negative effects on both access to school and progress
through the education system,” concludes the study.
Leaving the education system
The study shows that the negative trends are even more striking if one considers that the data include education that may have been completed in the post-conflict period.
While some children may return to school after a conflict, the results of this study point to the fact that most do not, leaving behind entire
generations with a significant educational deficit. Women are particularly vulnerable.