Nepal Earthquake: Education for Nearly 1 million Children in Jeopardy - UNICEF
NEW YORK (May 7, 2015) – At least 950,000 children in Nepal will not be able to return to school, unless urgent action is taken to provide temporary learning spaces and repair damaged school buildings following the April 25th earthquake – according to UNICEF. Almost 24,000 classrooms were damaged or destroyed in the 7.8 magnitude quake that hit the country 12 days ago, with many suffering further damage in subsequent aftershocks.
The scale of the education crisis is expected to grow over the coming days and weeks as additional information flows in from remote areas. Schools are due to reopen on May 15th.
“Almost one million children who were enrolled in school before the earthquake could now find they have no school building to return to,” says Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF’s Representative in Nepal.
“Children affected by the earthquake need urgent life-saving assistance like clean water and shelter, but schools in emergencies – even in a temporary setup -- play a vital role too. They minimise disruption to children’s education, protect them from exploitation and abuse, and provide them with messages to keep them safe and healthy. Going to school also allows children to regain a vital sense of routine that can help them come to terms with their experiences.”
In the severely-affected districts of Gorkha, Sindhupalchok and Nuwakot, it is estimated that more than 90 percent of schools have been destroyed, while around 80 percent of school buildings have collapsed in Dhading. In some areas, including Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, approximately nine in ten surviving school buildings have been used as emergency shelters.
UNICEF is concerned that great strides made over the last 25 years in increasing primary school enrolment in Nepal – from 64 percent in 1990 to more than 95 percent today – could suffer a serious setback in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Nepal’s high dropout rate was already a major concern. Around 1.2 million Nepali children between the ages of five and 16 have either never attended school or have dropped out. UNICEF’s experience shows that children who are out of school for extended periods, including during emergencies, become less and less likely to ever return to the classroom.
“There is a desperate need to set up alternative learning spaces, assess and repair buildings, and mount a public awareness campaign encouraging families to send their children back to school and preschool,” says Hozumi.
“Prolonged interruption to education can be devastating for children’s development and future prospects.”
UNICEF and partners are doing everything they can to get children back to education as soon as possible – including working to set up child friendly spaces and temporary learning spaces in 14 districts affected by the earthquake. Work to establish a system to assess the structure and safety of school buildings that are still standing is also underway, while UNICEF is supporting the government to prepare national guidelines on the use of schools as shelter during emergencies.
UNICEF has launched a $50 million appeal to support its humanitarian response to the earthquake in Nepal over the next three months, as part of a wider inter-agency flash appeal.
How to help: For more information or to make a tax-deductible contribution to UNICEF’s relief efforts, please contact the U.S. Fund for UNICEF:
Website: www.unicefusa.org/nepal
Toll free: 1-800-FOR-KIDS
Text: Text "Nepal" to 864233 (UNICEF) to make a $10 donation
Mail: 125 Maiden Lane, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10038
As with any emergency, in the event that donations exceed anticipated needs, the U.S. Fund will redirect any excess funds to children in greatest need.
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Photos and videos are available here: http://uni.cf/1HH6SbO
Interviews are available with UNICEF staff working on the emergency response.
About UNICEF
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to put children first. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, by providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when no children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.
For more information, contact:
Marci Greenberg, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 212.922.2464, mgreenberg@unicefusa.org