2,500 schools closed in Burkina Faso due to unrest- HRW

Increase in jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso since 2017 has led to the closure of more than 2,000 schools, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Tuesday.

Citing the Ministry of Education, the report says 2,500 schools have been closed, depriving nearly 350,000 students access to education.

At least 222 education workers have been “victims of terrorist attacks,” the ministry said. The Human Rights Organization has documented 126 attacks and armed threats against education professionals, students and schools.

Since the attacks on schools began, at least 12 education professionals have been killed and 17 others assaulted or abducted, with many others forcibly detained and threatened, the Burkinabe authorities said.

Suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus outbreak, classes in schools and universities are due to resume gradually from 1 June, the government said.

AFP