RIGHTS-COTE D’IVOIRE: War Prevents 500,000 Children from Attending School

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Franky Kouakou

ABIDJAN, Nov 19 2002 (IPS) - War has prevented more than 500,000 children from attending school in Cote d’Ivoire, according to a top government official.

The official, Michel N’guessan Amani, the Minister of Education, says six out of the West African country’s 19 regions have been affected by the conflict, which erupted on Sep 19.

The regions – Upper Sassandra, Zanzan, Denguele, Savanes, Worodougou and Vallee du Bandama – are all situated in territories controlled by rebel soldiers.

But, the ministry of education says the six regions, which account for nearly half of the country’s landmass, only represent 15 percent of its educational institutions and on average, 22 percent of the nation’s students.

Jule N’da Kouadio, in-charge of training at the ministry of education, says the number of children, enrolled during the 2002-2003 school year nationwide was 2,789,934: a figure representing 2,118,501 primary, and 671,433 secondary, students.

In rebel-controlled zones, 447,215 primary students and more than 149,000 secondary students were enrolled.

Some of the students have fled the rebel-controlled areas. By Oct 25, 35 days after the beginning of the mutiny, 953 students had registered with the ministry of education in Abidjan, the country’s economic capital. Among them, 746 expressed an interest in attending schools in the Abidjan region, while 207 said they wanted to return home.

‘’It’ll be hard to find a place for them,” says Amani, referring to those who want to study in Abidjan. ‘’Enrolment is so tight that it would be unwise for us to promise them a place in school.”

The remark has enraged students. ‘’We didn’t start the war and we’re the ones suffering the most,” complains Yves N’da, a primary student from the central town of Bouake.

Souleymane Dosso, a high school student from Korhogo, in the north, feels that in times of war, there should be special arrangements for study. ‘’Many teachers have fled the rebel-controlled zones. We should make use of them in specially set-up classes,” he says.

Parents have urged the government to reorganise classes to make up for lost time.

The conflict is also affecting Cote d’Ivoire’s universities, especially the University of Bouake, and the Regional Unit of Higher Education of Korhogo, which are closed. There is nothing to offer students who have fled to Abidjan from the two rebel-occupied towns. The University of Cocody, in Abidjan, which was built for 6,000 students, is now teeming with 50,000 students.

The teachers’ unions are opposed to resuming school in just one part of the country. But, neither the unions nor the parents’ associations are willing to say that publicly, especially to a journalist.

Any information critical of the government, especially in Abidjan, where support for the government is high, is also hard to come by. Civil society is frightened of speaking out on any controversial issue since individuals – perceived to be government opponents – have begun to disappear in Abidjan. The fear of being kidnapped by the secret police is undermining civil society’s responses.

The mutiny also has unleashed a wave of xenophobia, directed mainly against people from neighbouring countries, especially from Burkina Faso.

Cote d’Ivoire’s 16 million people include 2.2 million Burkinabe, 800,000 Malians and 230,000 Guineans, according to government statistics.

The anti-immigrant feelings in Cote d’Ivoire, once a bastion of stability in West Africa, began after the economic boom, which attracted millions of workers from poorer neighbours.