Integrating refugee children in schools

Enrolling some 20,000 refugee children in schools in Cote d'Ivoire is the aim of an agreement signed on Friday by representatives of the government, UNHCR, UNICEF and WFP, the state body in charge of refugee affairs, SAARA, reported.

The agreement relates to children living in the Zone d'accueil des refugies (Refugee Reception Zone) in western Cote d'Ivoire, the Refugee aid and Assistance office (SAARA - Service d'aide et d'assistance aux refugies et personnes apatrides) said. It would allow them to enrol in Ivorian schools, where French is the language of instruction, during the coming school year, which starts on 17 September.

UNHCR will have 90 new classrooms built in schools in Danane, Guiglo, Tabou and Toulepleu, the four towns in the ZAR. This is being funded to the sum of about US $1 million by the US government. UNHCR will also donate to the Ivorian government equipment formerly used by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).

ADRA used to teach the children in English using the Liberian curriculum under a programme that was funded by UNHCR.

UNICEF plans to provide teaching material, train teachers and help develop curricula. WFP is to donate rice, fish, salt and oil to provide lunches to the schools, WFP country representative Trudy Bower-Pirinis told IRIN on Monday. She said her agency was ready for this new initiative, but most schools had no canteens. Building these was therefore a priority, she said.

The voluntary repatriation of Liberian refugees from Cote d'Ivoire ended last year. The efforts of humanitarian organisations are now focused on helping them to integrate, including in the field of education. However, the biggest obstacle is insufficient money, SAARA head Ralph Coffi Brouz told IRIN on Monday.

A study by the Bureau national d'etudes techniques et developpement (BNETD- National Bureau for Technical Studies and Development) estimated the project's cost at the equivalent of US $16.2 million. This includes classrooms, sanitation facilities, dining halls, housing units for teachers, salaries and other costs. While 321 new classrooms are needed, UNHCR is building 90 because that is all the money it has received so far, Brouz said.

Very few donors have expressed interest in the school project. Brouz said the government wanted to respect its international obligations by taking proper care of its refugee population but needed financial help to do so.