In Zangba, in the Central African Republic (CAR), a series of crises led to the closure of several schools during the 2023/24 academic year. In collaboration with local education authorities, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) supported the resumption of classes in three affected schools.

The school year was first interrupted in November 2023, when serious flooding prevented children from getting to school. Since March 2024, military operations linked to the conflict have also had an impact on learning. In April, insecurity forced over 800 families to move, and more children stopped attending school.

“For the pupils, it was the risk of a missed year,” says Jean-Michel Mawando, a parent whose child attends the Ouambé Croisement school. “Parents lived in anguish because of the insecurity, but also because their children's academic future was compromised by the closure of the school.”

Without access to school, children are forced to stay at home. As well as the effect this has on their learning, they are exposed to increased protection risks, such as recruitment by armed groups, child labour, sexual violence and forced marriages.

A rapid response

Faced with this critical situation, the Zangba school sector appealed to NRC for help. With support from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, we worked with the Lower Kotto school authorities to put in place a rapid response.

This enabled classes to resume, thus avoiding a missed year of learning. It also improved children’s wellbeing by introducing psychosocial support activities designed to help them overcome the stress of the traumatic events they had experienced.

The response included:

• the distribution of learning materials and recreational kits
• training teachers on how to better to respond to the mental health needs of children
• the setting up of a referral system

As a result, 938 children were able to return to school on 10 June 2024.

Almost 10,000 students are acutely vulnerable

However, despite these encouraging results, education needs in Zangba remain acute. Of the 50 schools in the area, which has 10,401 students and 121 teachers in total, 10 schools were closed following the crisis. Of the 10 schools, only three have benefitted from this emergency education assistance, leaving 9,463 children out of school and in a situation of acute vulnerability.

It is imperative to expand this programme to all schools in the region, to ensure that every child has access to safe, quality education. More resources and partners must be mobilised to ensure that all children can benefit from their fundamental right to education, and thus, build a better and safer future.