Human Rights Watch respectfully presents this written presentation to bring young people’s testimonies to the discussion on the effect of Covid-19 on young people in the 35th regular consultation of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
Between April and August 2020, Human Rights Watch conducted 57 remote interviews with students, parents, teachers and school officials in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia to be informed about the effects of the pandemic on child rearing. Our studies show that school closures due to the pandemic have exacerbated past inequalities and that young people who were already at risk of being excluded from quality education have been the most affected.
Many young people did not get an education after schools across the continent closed in March 2020 [1].
“My daughter is no longer learning, she’s just waiting for the reopening to continue her studies,” said the mother of a 9-year-old girl in Eastern Conpass. [2] A mother of two preschoolers in North Kivu, Conpass, said, “I am not satisfied that my children no longer make it to school. The years don’t wait for you. They’ve already lost a lot ofArray.. What about our uneducated youth? [3] Lusenge K., 16, also from Conpass, said in June that he had no education after the schools closed and feared he would not enter. His senior school year: “Block is not smart for me.” [4]
The director of a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Madagascar that provides schooling services and coverage of choice to young people who were homeless in the past and who had been orphaned or unable to live with their parents said that young people housed in foster care “had not won any school closure. Array »[5]
Many young people have not received instruction, comment, or interaction with their teachers.
“Children are not informed during this period,” said a school official in Congo in June, echoing reports from many young people across the continent. Although some academics won published household assignments, she said, “We can’t say it’s a general education.” [6] A Congolese student told us, for example, “We were told to read our notes again while we were waiting for additional orders from the authorities. At first, I thought school would start soon, so I didn’t read my grades and then, when I saw it was going to continue, I started reading them. I’d forgotten a lot of things. [7] Chéckina M., 13, in Kinshasa, said she had won an e-book exam from her school when she closed, but that she no longer had contact with her teachers. “I reread my old lessons … I find it hard to read math at home [alone].” [8]
In Zambia, just before Natalie L.’s school, 15, closed, “The principal came through the categories and told us to examine it ourselves.” Natalie uses books she already had. “Most subjects are difficult to perceive without the help of a teacher.” She said: “It’s a little scary. Next year I have my [graduation] exam and I think I’m going to have to work harder on that.” [9]
Parents and teachers in the Central African Republic said in June that there had been no classes since the school closed. [10] A mother of a 6-year-old woman in Bangui said she was looking for her daughter to do review exercises, and three times a week they listened to posh on the radio. “But it is a program that is not expressed in each and every point of elegance. It’s too complex … Our young people did not gain any help in this pandemic period. I’m worried about a fall at the point of young people after all this wasted time.” [11 ]
Dekha A., 14, in Kenya, said her school sends review papers to parents on WhatsApp twice a month. “A scoring formula is sent once the academics have made an attempt and the jobs are meant to be corrected through the parents… Teachers don’t talk directly to us.” [12]
Students studied fewer subjects or less content through distance learning.
Many academics echoed 17-year-old Lwandle M. from South Africa, who said he had trouble learning online: “I don’t think I have the field to dominate and no one is training me.” [13]
Makena M., a 17-year-old woman from Nairobi, Kenya, said she prioritizes her limited Internet knowledge to download learning fabrics for math and science. “Themes such as devout Christian education, English or the Kiswahili language, I have read the textbooks I have.” [14]
Although nawal L. school in Morocco offers online courses, some instructors have encountered difficulties, she said: “Sometimes we don’t listen to an instructor all day, and then show up at age 6 to say I didn’t have enough internet credit.” She added: “The physics teacher … just disappeared … He just didn’t teach any classes.” [15] Nawal estimated that a portion of the academics were taking online courses. [sixteen]
Many academics shared emotions of stress, anxiety, isolation and depression, which compare to lack of contact with their school community. “It’s stressful to have to examine yourself,” said Makena M., 17, in Kenya. “I have a tendency to think a lot about school and my friends,” said Kioko Y., 15, from Kenya. “It saddens me. I know my school has a counselor, but we were never touched after the final and before that, I’ve never been to see it.” [18]
“The school does not provide emotional or social services,” one caregiver told four students who were not receiving education in Congo at the time of the interview. “This facet is too neglected.” [19]
A 16-year-old South African boy said, “This time, thinking about things and being alone sucks, I guess. Especially when I was a teenager … I fought for two weeks in total, like crying every day. Uh, yes, so it was a wonderful thing for me, to start thinking that life didn’t make sense.” [20]
Many parents are overwhelmed with the prices of continuing to educate their children during the closure of schools. A father of four children in Cameroon said: “The primary school is meant to be lazy in Cameroon, but it is not. There are contributions. He said his youngest children’s school was no longer an easy payment for the last quarter of the year.” when it was closed. “Will schools blackmail? If you don’t pay the year [previous], we may not re-register your child for next year? [21] The father of a 17-year-old in Lubumbashi, Congo, said his daughter at school sold them a program to help him examine at home for 15,000 CDF (US$8). [22]
Girls face exclusive barriers to continuing formal distance education. [23] Taisha S., 16, in Kenya, stated that her school did not offer recommended school fabrics or closures, so she contacted her science instructor. “He said he may not have passed into anyone’s space, but they simply come into their space. As women, we were afraid to move into their space, but I hear the boys were going. [24] A number one school instructor in Nairobi, Kenya, said, “With confinement, all members of the family circle remain in space from morning to night.” Some women have called me to tell me that they are being harassed by their parents or uncles.”
Girls are expected to take care of children and family tasks. Taisha also said, “My responsibilities are higher, of course, because schools have closed.” He said he rarely missed the distance categories on television because of his housework. [26] Zawadi N., 16, in Nairobi, said she spends almost five hours a day worrying about her younger siblings: “There is much more to do with the brothers because I am also an instructor for the younger ones. ” [27]
When young people want to use generation to screen and access to devices or knowledge is limited, boys end up with more access to those resources than girls. [28]
Widespread school closures can also increase the threat of child marriage, as Human Rights Watch studies in Malawi, South Sudan and Tanzania show a strong bond among women who drop out of school or go to school and are forced to marry. [29] Child marriage – and pregnancy and parenthood – are also points that cause women to drop out of school, and some schools discourage or prohibit dating from married women, pregnant women and mothers. [30]
Lack of access to radios, television, computers, the Internet and knowledge has prevented many academics from getting involved in distance education. “There were courses presented on Warsan Radio,” said a 16-year-old in Garissa, Kenya, “but I never listened because we don’t have a radio.” [31] In Burkina Faso, an instructor in the Loop of the Mouhoun region said that many scholars he knew “have no electricity, not even a lamp to study.” [32] An instructor from the North-Central region said of distance learning: “Many [academics] don’t even have access to radios, let alone televisions. So it’s anything that probably doesn’t bother all academics. There will be discrimination. possibly not take into account all young people. [33] An instructor from the Kasai region of The Congo claimed that the Ministry of Education had organized television classes, but that the city where he lived, with a population of more than one million, was not fully electrified. “How can academics take these courses?” [34]
Many young people do not have access to the Internet, which is increasingly essential for education. An instructor in the casual settlements of mathare in Nairobi, Kenya, said: “None of the academics have access to internet-connected smartphones. Only a few have access to cell phones that make calls and text messaging functions. Digital learning is not an option [35] Kioko Y., 15, in Kenya, said she was using her mother’s phone phone phone for the Internet. His school does not offer online courses, however, he uses YouTube and Google for his studies. “I have a tendency to decide on study issues because I can’t stay with my mother’s telephone for long because she has a business.” [36]
A parent in Nigeria said: “[My 3 children] attend categories of online schools on my telephone because the family circle does not have a pcArray. Although the categories are on video, young people only pay attention to audio. Sometimes they can’t log in because I don’t always have enough data. [37] A Nigerian mother said, “I had to upgrade [my daughter] to a smartphone so she could access the documents online, but infrequently I can’t afford the data. [my] salary as an official. [38] A mother from Lagos, who lost her source of income after closing the university where she was cleaning due to the pandemic, explained that she may not be able to attend school online for her two best school-age children. Array “Your instructor called me to tell me to buy a large teleteletelephone [smartteletelephone] for online teaching… I don’t have cash to feed my circle of relatives and I’m suffering to make ends meet, how can I teleteletelephone and internet? »[39 ]
In Morocco, Hynd M.’s mother supports the circle of relatives running like a housekeeper. At home, they have slow WiFi. Mr Hynd said: “There is a bigger plan for faster WiFi. I talked to my mom, but she said we couldn’t. Since the connection is not excellent, I have to prioritize some classes over others.” [40 ]
Digital literacy, for academics and instructors, is increasingly identified as an indispensable component of children’s right to education. After the closure of Nawal L.’s school in Marrakech, Morocco, only her math instructor contacted students to collect students’ WhatsApp contacts and circulate login credentials for online learning. “I tried them several times, but it didn’t work,” Nawal said. “Almost all the other academics were in the same situation … One of my classmates is a geek, she’s got a lot of technology. He did his thing, not knowing what, but he still sent us new passwords. This time I worked. »[41]
An instructor in Rabat, Morocco, said he learned in a televised interview with the education minister that instructors deserve to use Microsoft Teams to create distance classes. “I had no idea how this Teams thing works, I never won commands to make it work… I tried four times to access it, I didn’t make it, despite everything I left. At no time does the branch do anything to facilitate access … Maybe those are my weak generation skills, but it never worked for me. »[42]
Caregivers with little or no schooling have more difficulty supporting young people in learning at home. Taisha S., 16, lives with her two grandmothers in Garissa, Kenya. “I’m the only user in this space who’s been to school, so very little or no support.” [43]
An instructor from a low-income community in Rabat, Morocco, said that after a few weeks away being informed, “maybe 10% or less of academics still adhere to today. Those who do, most of the time, have informed parents who tell them to stand firm. [44] Khadija F. in Casablanca said, “Neither I nor my husband can read or write, so we cannot help our daughters at school. “Perhaps it was because she couldn’t read that her husband didn’t realize that the WhatsApp messages he was getting on his phone — ” from an unknown number, which annoyed him, so he erased them,” Khadija said, ” were his children’s orders. Teachers After a neighbor alerted Khadija that the instructors were achieving in this way, the youth began to be informed from a distance [45].
Children living in rural areas are less likely to have the resources to adapt and implement mandatory measures to continue school closures, adding Internet access and flexibility to replace school schedules, which have been adjusted to accommodate seasonal harvests. An instructor in Burkina Faso expressed fear that converting the school age to make up for lost time would exclude young people in the event of a clash with cultures. “Some young people will not go back to school because they will prefer … parents to help grow so they can eat. That’s why a lot of schoolchildren won’t even come.”
A public school principal on a rural agricultural network in Zambia said teachers were sending categories to social media. However, “not all young people are connected to a social platform,” he said, noting that, in particular, young people in rural areas have less access to cell phones than young people in urban spaces. [47]
Interviewees in Burkina Faso expressed fear that many schools have wells or water points. “To wash your hands you need water all the time,” said an Instructor from the Eastern Region. [48]
We are involved that all the points affecting the schooling of young people are getting worse for young people with disabilities. An instructor at a girls’ school, adding disabled youth, in Bangui, Central African Republic, said she had not been in contact with any of her students since they closed schools on March 27, 2020. “Most young people will lose the wisdom they have learned. beforehand. Array »[49]
An instructor of the Mathare casual settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, explained how the pandemic had aggravated the already dire living situations of many of her students: “They live with brothers and sisters and a prolonged circle of family members in small houses and lack fundamental pieces Most of these young people’s parents have lost their livelihood as a result of the pandemic , which is making his already tense life situations worse. [50] Elsewhere in Nairobi in early May, the government deported more than 8,000 people to two casual agreements. They brought excavators to demolish houses, churches, department stores and schools. [51] Rehema N. said, “All my books and my school uniform were delivered lost in chaos.” [52]
Armed clashes are one of the main reasons for the school drop-out of many children and have only been aggravated by the closure of schools in the event of a pandemic. Taisha S., 16, lives in Garissa, Kenya. “We don’t have to learn,” he said, adding: “This scenario didn’t start with Covid-19. Previously, we had no categories for 3 weeks because many teachers were fleeing northeast of the [province] due to a buildup of terrorist incidents”. [53]
A school official in North Kivu, Congo, expressed fear that without schools to rent them, young people are most threatened with recruitment through armed teams operating in the region. [54] A caretaker of 4 academics from the same province said, “Mine are not yet gone, but today there are young people in the bush with armed teams.” [55] A father of two leading school academics in Congo said, “From what my children are feared, they will be lost and joined by the armed teams of the region.”
An employee of a school NGO in one of Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, which has been plagued by violence since 2016, said: “With Covid, the government has had to limit children to Array schools… But before the coronavirus crisis, few schools were already working well Array.. Because of [this crisis], it is difficult to communicate about schooling here ». [57]
In Kadugli, South Kordofán, Sudan, the paramilitaries of the Sudan Rapid Support Forces took over a number one school for girls on 14 June 2020 and began it as an educational basis. The school was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic at the time. The school was meant to reopen to allow students to take the school’s best exams, however, the armed forces did not allow the school to reopen. [58]
In an example of intelligent practice, Mali’s Ministry of Education wrote to the then Minister of Defense, reminding him of Mali’s commitments under the Safe Schools Declaration to use empty schools because of the pandemic for military purposes. [59]
Repeating the fear of many educators in Africa, an instructor from Bangui, Central African Republic, said: “It is certain that academics will drop out of school. One of my academics already sells fish … She made it clear to me that she might not be back in school next year. [60] Research conducted in the Central African Republic through the International Peace Information Service shows an increase in the number of young people under the age of 15 engaged in artisanal and diamond mining from the outset. The median increased from 10 young people under the age of 15 in 2019 to 15 young people in 2020, probably due to the closure of schools in rural and mining areas. [61]
The principal of an organization in Madagascar that encourages peasant families to send their children to school instead of work, fears that some will not return to school. “We’ve done everything … so that young people feel compelled to come to school, and here we give them the opportunity not to go … It’s been four months since we lost our relationship with most young people.” [62]
A resident of low-income fishing net paintings in Lagos, Nigeria, said most young people who have lately not attended school due to the pandemic, adding their three siblings over the age of 11 to 14, had started fishing or selling fish to their parents. “Schools haven’t given them any homework or paintings to keep them running,” he said. “Now my brothers and sisters don’t do much at home, they through the street selling of fish that my father brings home after fishing after my mom smoked them.” [63]
[1] Some parents began taking their children out of school even before the official closures because they were involved in Covid-19. Human Rights Watch interview with father of five, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 10 June 2020; and Gillian Saks, mother of two, Cape Town, South Africa, 25 June 2020.
[2] Human Rights Watch interview with the mother of a 9-year-old woman from Oicha, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 10 June 2020.
[3] Human Rights Watch interview with the mother of a 3-year-old boy and a 5-year-old woman from Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 12, 2020.
[4] Human Rights Watch interview with a 16-year-old girl, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 12, 2020.
[5] Human Rights Watch interview with Alex Herivelona, director of the Ankanifitahiana Center, Antananarivo, Madagascar, 2 June 2020.
[6] Human Rights Watch interview with an official, Butembo, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 10, 2020.
[7] Human Rights Watch interview with a 16-year-old student, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 20, 2020.
[8] Human Rights Watch interview with a 13-year-old girl, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 10, 2020.
[9] Human Rights Watch interview with Natalie, 15, Kabwe, Zambia, June 2020.
[10] Human Rights Watch interview with father of five, Bangui, Central African Republic, June 16, 2020; with a high school teacher, Bangui, Central African Republic, 20 June 2020; and with a math teacher, Bangui, Central African Republic, 23 June 2020.
[11] Human Rights Watch interview with a mother of three, Bangui, Central African Republic, June 30, 2020.
[12] Human Rights Watch interview with Dekha Mohamed A. (not her name), 14 years, Garissa, Kenya, 20 June 2020.
[13] Human Rights Watch interview with Lwandle M., 17, Roodepoort, Gauteng, South Africa, June 6, 2020.
[14] Human Rights Watch interview with Makena M. (not her name), 15, Nairobi, Kenya, June 2020.
[15] Human Rights Watch interview with Nawal L. (not his name), 16 years, Marrakech, Morocco, 19 June 2020.
[16] Human Rights Watch interview with Nawal L. (not his name), 16 years, Marrakech, Morocco, June 19, 2020.
[17] Human Rights Watch interview with Makena M. (not her name), 15, Nairobi, Kenya, June 2020.
[18] Human Rights Watch interview with Kioko Y. (not his name), 15 years, Garissa, Kenya, 20 June 2020.
[19] Human Rights Watch interview with a four-student caregiver, Beni, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 10, 2020.
[20] Human Rights Watch interview with Joseph S. (false name), 16 years, Cape Town, South Africa, June 25, 2020.
[21] Human Rights Watch interview with a father of four from Douala, Cameroon, June 26, 2020.
[22] Human Rights Watch interview with a father, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 17, 2020.
[23] Agnes Odhiambo (Human Rights Watch), “How Girls’ Education and Safety Will Be Affected through Covid’s Response,” African Arguments, April 15, 2020, available at:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/15/how-girls-education-and-safety-will-be-harmed-covid-response.
[24] Human Rights Watch interview with Taisha S. (not her name), 16 years, Garissa, Kenya, June 20, 2020.
[25] Human Rights Watch interview with a teacher, Nairobi, Kenya, June 2020.
[26] Human Rights Watch interview with Taisha S. (false name), 16 years old, Garissa, Kenya, June 20, 2020.
[27] Human Rights Watch interview with Zawadi N. (not his name), 16 years, Nairobi, Kenya, 20 June 2020.
[28] OECD, “Closing the Gender Gap: Including, Improving Skills, Innovating,” 2018.
[29] “No exit: child marriage and violations of Huguy’s rights in Tanzania,” report by Huguy Rights Watch, October 2014; “I have never known happiness”: child marriage in Malawi, report by Huguy Rights Watch, March 2014; and “This old man can feed us, you’ll marry him”: child marriage and forced marriage in South Sudan, report by Huguy Rights Watch, March 2013.
[30] “Don’t Leave Women in Africa: Discrimination in Schooling Against Pregnant Women and Adolescent Mothers,” Human Rights Watch report, June 14, 2018.
[31] Human Rights Watch interview with Taisha S. (not her name), 16 years old, Garissa, Kenya, 20 June 2020.
[32] Human Rights Watch interview with a teacher, Sourou, Boucle du Mouhoun, Burkina Faso, April 29, 2020.
[33] Human Rights Watch interview with the director, Sanmatenga Province, North Central Region, April 30, 2020.
[34] Human Rights Watch interview with a teacher, Kananga, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 24, 2020.
[35] Human Rights Watch interview with a teacher, Nairobi, Kenya, June 2020.
[36] Human Rights Watch interview with Kioko Y. (false name), 15, Kenya, 20 June 2020.
[37] Human Rights Watch interview with Timothy B., Sr., Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, June 26, 2020.
[38] Human Rights Watch interview with Olayinka O., mother, Nigeria, June 26, 2020.
[39] Human Rights Watch interview with Margaret O., a 40-year-old mother, Bariga, Lagos, Nigeria, August 20, 2020.
[40] Human Rights Watch interview with Hynd M. (false name), 18, Casablanca, Morocco, 18 June 2020.
[41] Human Rights Watch interview with Nawal L. (false name), 16 years old, Marrakech, Morocco, 19 June 2020.
[42] Human Rights Watch interview with Hassan Mahfoud, Professor, Rabat, Morocco, 17 June 2020.
[43] Human Rights Watch interview with Taisha S. (not her name), 16, Garissa, Kenya, June 20, 2020.
[44] Human Rights Watch interview with a teacher, Rabat, Morocco, June 14, 2020.
[45] Human Rights Watch interview with Khadija F. (not her name), mother, Casablanca, Morocco, June 15, 2020.
[46] Human Rights Watch interview with a teacher, Sourou, Boucle du Mouhoun, Burkina Faso, 29 April 2020.
[47] Human Rights Watch interview with a director, Zambia, June 5, 2020.
[48] Human Rights Watch interviews with a teacher, Eastern Region, Burkina Faso, May 2, 2020; and emergency specialist at Plan International, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 1 May 2020.
[49] Human Rights Watch interview with a teacher, Bangui, Central African Republic, June 20, 2020.
[50] Human Rights Watch interview with a teacher, Nairobi, Kenya, June 2020.
[51] Juliana Nnoko-Mewanu and Najma Abdi (Human Rights Watch), “Nairobi deportes another 8,000 people amid a pandemic and curfew,” African Arguments, 10 June 2020, available at https: // www. hrw.org/news/ 2020/06/10 / nairobi-expels-8000-other-people-in-middle-of-pandemic-and-curfew.
[52] Human Rights Watch interview with Rehema N. (false name), 19, Nairobi, Kenya, May 2020.
[53] Human Rights Watch interview with Taisha S. (not her name), 16 years old, Garissa, Kenya, June 20, 2020.
[54] Human Rights Watch interview with a member of the Office of Secondary and Professional Education, Butembo, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 10, 2020.
[55] Human Rights Watch interview with a four-student caregiver, Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 10, 2020.
[56] Human Rights Watch interview with a family member, Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 10, 2020.
[57] Human Rights Watch interview with an educational NGO, Northwest Region, Cameroon, July 2020.
[58] Alex Firth, “Sudanese School Closed by Pandemic, Guarded by the Armed Forces,” human Rights Watch’s office, July 29, 2020, available in https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/07/ 29 / Sudanese Armed Forces closed against the pandemic monitored by the armed forces.
[59] Letter from Kinane AG Gadeda, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Education, to the Minister of Defence, “Protection of Education in the Era of the Pandemic Covid-19”, 29 May 2020. Registered with Human Rights Watch.
[60] Human Rights Watch interview with a teacher, Bangui, Central African Republic, June 23, 2020.
[61] IPIS Insights, “The Impact of Covid-19 on Gold and Diamond Artisanal Mines in Western Central Africa Republic”, July 2020, available in https://ipisresearch.be/wp-content/uploads/2020/07 / 200817-insights-The Impact-de-Covid-CAR.pdf
[62] Human Rights Watch interview with Alex Herivelona, director of the Ankanifitahiana Center, Antananarivo, Madagascar, 2 June 2020.
[63] Human Rights Watch interview with Temitope O., Isale Akoka Community of Lagos, Nigeria, May 5, 2020.
[64] The Safe Schools Declaration is an intergovernmental political commitment to take action to students, teachers, schools and universities of the worst effects of armed conflict. By August 2020, 104 governments had approved the declaration, adding Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Kenya and Liberia. Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan and Zambia.
[65] The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states: “There is a strong presumption that retrograde measures taken in relation to the right to education, as well as other rights established in the Covenant, are not permitted. If intentionally retrograde measures are taken, It is up to the State party to demonstrate that they were presented after the utmost careful attention of all opportunities and that they are fully justified in reference to the rights package and the context of the full use of the maximum available resources of the State party, Committee on Economic Rights, Social and Cultural Affairs, “Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – General Observation No. thirteen (21st session, 1999)”, UN Doc. No E / C.12 / 1999.10, 8 December 1999, para. 45. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights stated that “measures that undermine the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights Problems through Americans or peoples are prima facie in violation of the African Charter, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, “Principles and Guidelines on the Implementation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights”, November 2010, para.