Over 57 per cent of schools in Borno State remained closed, in spite of the new school year, due to Boko Haram insurgency in North-East Nigeria.
It therefore means that an estimated three million children are in need of emergency education support.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) made this known on Friday in a statement by its Chief of Communication, Ms Doune Porter.
Her words: “Since 2009, across the North-East, over 2,295 teachers have been killed and 19,000 displaced.
“Almost 1,400 schools have been destroyed with the majority unable to open because of extensive damage or because they are in areas that remain unsafe.”
She also quoted the Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF, Mr. Justin Forsyth, as saying: “Children in North-East Nigeria are living through so much horror.
“In addition to devastating malnutrition, violence and an outbreak of cholera, the attacks on schools is in danger of creating a lost generation of children.’’
Porter spoke of UNICEF’s efforts in conjunction with some partners to effect the required change to ensure that the children are educated.
The efforts, she said, included training of teachers, and rehabilitating schools.
She said: “In the Muna Garage camp on the outskirts of Maiduguri, for example, an estimated 90 per cent of students are enrolled in school for the first time.
“In the three most-affected states of North-East Nigeria, UNICEF and partners have enrolled nearly 750,000 children in school this year.
“Also, we are establishing over 350 temporary learning spaces, and distributing almost 94,000 packs of learning materials that will help children to get education.
“The use of children as human bombs, close to 100 so far in 2017, has sown a climate of mistrust among communities in the North-East.
“Also, cholera outbreak has affected more than 3,900 people, including over 2450 children.“
Porter however said that the life-saving emergency programmes in the region embarked upon by UNICEF still needed more fund.
