Safeguard education in conflict areas

The Government has declared the drought currently ravaging the country a national disaster. The effects of drought especially in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands are grim. Conflicts have been reported in the usually volatile areas.

Last week, schools in Elgeyo Marakwet had to close down following attacks from cattle rustlers. In conflict zones, it is children who often bear the brunt of the violence; they cannot play, sleep or attend school; and increasingly, they cannot find food.

Given the recurrence of attacks, there is need to prevent attacks on educational institutions and facilities. The rationale behind this argument is that education provides critical opportunities for children and young people, and this is especially true for those living in conflict zones.

Schools give students a vital link to normality, while encouraging them to maintain hope and pursue their aspirations even in the most difficult of circumstances.

They not only train the next generation of doctors, journalists, lawyers, and community leaders; they also provide children with mentors, food, water, and knowledge. And yet, as the attacks on schools in places such as West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Turkana, Samburu, Baringo and Laikipia demonstrate, what are supposed to be safe havens often are in peril.

If children can still attend school during conflicts, they will be the green shoots that emerge to re-rebuild their war-torn societies when the conflict is over.

To safeguard children’s basic human right to education, the Government should ensure that schools in conflict zones are shielded. Schools in conflict areas concentrate one of the most vulnerable populations in any society.

Attacks on children and schools often draw wide condemnation, but words alone are clearly not an effective deterrent.

The Government must value safety of the children enough to enforce mechanisms available under the constitution to strengthen our collective political will to prevent attacks on educational facilities.

The government must stop paying lip service to the right to education for such children and ensure that education is actively recognized as being fundamental to human development.

We should be creating a world where everyone who wishes to learn, teach, or pursue academic research can do so in peace and with dignity. As it is, these conflict places have become no-go zones for “outsiders.”

The ambition to secure our schools requires shared action, and it will take collaboration, cooperation, and mutual trust to develop new measures needed to protect educational institutions in conflict areas.

The declaration of education as a basic right of every Kenyan is essential for safeguarding schoolchildren, teachers, and facilities during times of distress. It is morally wrong and negligent on the part of the government to ignore this cardinal responsibility.

Perhaps the long-term strategy in safeguarding education institutions is to seriously address the problems of poverty and lack of resources. The World Bank projects increasing food shortages in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In a recent study, it predicted that drought will leave 40 per cent of the land now growing maize unable to support that crop. Rising temperatures could cause major loss of savanna grasslands, threatening pastoral livelihoods.

The shifting rain patterns will leave some areas under water and others without enough water for power generation, agriculture or drinking. Events like the devastating floods could become common place. This naturally implies more conflict in jostling for resources.

It is in every country’s interest to guarantee that today’s students will have the opportunity to serve as tomorrow’s leaders. A political commitment to protect education, during conflicts is a commitment to end conflict.

If the government is committed to preventing schools from becoming battlegrounds, it is obligated to come up with effective long-term strategies to scaffold families from ravages of climate change and poverty.

It is time for the Government to do less of the rhetoric and more of the action. Every child deserves a safe learning environment.

Ms. Jepkemei is Senior Specialist, Education Leadership and Emotional Intelligence