Boko Haram: EU, UNICEF to train teachers on emergency preparedness

To protect learning environment in the country, the European Union (EU) and the United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) have concluded arrangement to train teachers on how to identify risk and the steps to take.

Since the start of insurgency in the North East in 2009, Boko Haram has killed more than 611 teachers and about 19,000 educators have fled from the violence.

The Conflict and Disaster Risk Reduction campaign in schools is part of a specially designed intervention funded by the EU.

The 18 -month project not only supports children affected by the Boko Haram violence by helping them access education and protection services, it also develops detailed plans with communities so schools can offer safer learning environments.

The programme is expected to address the complex nature of the crisis across Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria.

Reducing the vulnerability of school systems in this emergency is a key part of the multi -sectoral response that draws on expertise from education and child protection specialists. In conflict situations, the education sector is vulnerable to violence and insecurity, so it is a particularly relevant area for Conflict and Disaster Risk Reduction.

One important aspect of the initiative is to train teachers to identify risks and to develop emergency preparedness and response plans together with the community child protection focal points to reduce the danger for children in an area where bomb explosions, armed attacks and abduction remain a constant threat.

According to UNICEF, the programme is a multi -country effort to protect children and teachers from the effects of conflict.

“With 1.3 million children displaced in this crisis, it is imperative to support schools so parents can get their children back in the classroom,” said Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

“Ensuring access to education for crisis affected children is important, however opening schools is not enough. Children and teachers need to be equipped with knowledge and skills, to be prepared and able to mitigate the effects of something dangerous happening around the school premises.”