As the security situation slowly improves in Nigeria’s troubled north-east, some schools are tentatively reopening. Parents are still concerned due to frequent attacks by Boko Haram.
Boko Haram is a phrase in the Hausa language which when loosely translated means “Western Education is a Sin”. The group has attacked schools and kidnapped pupils,leading to the closure of many of these institutions and in the process, denying tens of thousands an education.
For some of these pupils, this is the first lesson they have had in months. This school in Maiduguri has taken in children forced to leave their homes and classrooms because of attacks by Boko Haram militants.
They now live in a camp, 10 minutes’ walk away. The government hopes to enrol them here until they can go home.
It takes time to persuade parents that it is safe. Boko Haram has attacked schools and kidnapped pupils. Most parents were afraid to send their children to school.
As parents become more confident, pupil numbers have swelled in Walari School. The school normally has 700 pupils, 900 more have come this year from the displaced communities. The headmaster says they will not turn any child away but teachers are finding it tough.
The Ministry of Education says it is training teachers and building capacity. This is a programme they want to roll out where it’s needed the most.
Borno state already struggles with the country’s lowest child literacy levels. School closures in rural areas and the ongoing violence has made the problem even worse.
CCTV’s Katerina Vittozzi reports.
