UNICEF to provide education for 9,000 children in Libya’s Benghazi
Author
Published on:
Read 2minutesCORDOBA SCHOOL, BENGHAZI, LIBYA. FEBRUARY 3 2019 Students and a teacher in a public school classroom on February 3, 2019 in Benghazi, Libya. About 1,500 children attend the school (from grades 1 to grade 9). The children are divided into two shifts; the first one starting at 8:00 and the second one starting 12:00. Among the students in the school are migrant, refugee and displaced children. There is a third shift for adult students as part of the eradication of the illiteracy program that the school has. There are about 500 adult students who attend the third shift. The school employs around 200 teaching staff members, none of whom have received their salaries in the last four months, because of the financial crisis in the East. The students have not yet received the majority of their textbooks. Sixth grade students for example have only received 2 out of 13 textbooks, said the principal, even though five months have passed since the beginning of the school year. According to the principal, the GNA Ministry of Education’s doesn’t deliver the books from Tripoli to Benghazi because of transportation constraints as well as political motivations. The school has only three toilets with no running water. In the schoolyard is a large swamp of sewage overflow coming from the adjacent houses. It appears that the school is in a densely populated area in Benghazi as it has the second largest number of students in the entire city. The school sustained significant damages during the war, but the Libyan Red Crescent Society intervened to repair the damages.(Photo by Giles Clarke/UNOCHA via Getty Images)
The UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday said it will provide learning opportunities for 9,000 children and adolescents in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.
“In partnership with the national organization Ekraa, 9,000 children and adolescents in Benghazi will receive learning opportunities to thrive and prosper,” the UNICEF said in a statement.
“The one-year agreement aims to deliver uninterrupted learning for girls and boys affected by the conflict, in addition to providing children who have missed out on education with remedial classes to catch up with their peers,” the statement added.
Benghazi, the second largest city of Libya and birthplace of the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi, witnessed a fierce war between the eastern-based army led by Khalifa Haftar and extremist groups.
In June 2017, Haftar announced the takeover of Benghazi and defeat of the rival armed groups in the city.
Due to armed conflict and political instability, Libyan authorities are struggling to provide basic services for the people, mainly proper education and healthcare.
