NHRC laments neglect of educational needs for displaced children

Photo shows Internally displaced children in school

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has lamented, with a great dismay, government’s handling the educational needs and support of over 1000 displaced children by insurgency in the North East.

The commission made the observation in Yola yesterday, when its officials visited, the Sangere IDP makeshift school, where over 1000 internally displaced children, attend school  in that host community,  lamented government’s dismal handling of the educational needs of  IDPs.

It regretted that educational rights which is a  fundamental human rights has however not been adequately addressed because of uncoordinated response of government and its agencies towards the plight of displaced persons living in host communities, especially  educational needs of their children who are out of school.

The commission’s state acting coordinator Ms. Grace Mamza, who spoke during the visit, said it has documented several lapses, indicating inadequate attention to the education of children displaced by insurgency, occurred in the North East.

The NHRC officials who inspected donations of tents and other educational logistics it helped to facilitate to the Sangere IDP schools said the visit to the school was part of its official engagement to provide protection support to victims affected by insurgency in the North East.

“We are here to assess the impact of some of the relief items, like tents and shelters we helped to secure for most of the camps in the state.

And our concern has been the number of kids, who do not have access to education under their present conditions as IDPs. Unfortunately, in most cases a lot of this kids have been kept out of the school system due to government’s  failure in most cases to provide alternative  schooling environment for them,” she said.

Peter A. Banu, the Head master of the school visited, said the intervention of the NHRC helped to increase enrollment, taking the initial population of kids who came to the center from 570 to above the 1000 mark.

Banu lamented that the school has 54 volunteers but none of them has received any financial assistant or relief material from the government, living off the assistance of NGO’s and other public spirited individuals.

By Tom Garba, Yola

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