Cameroon: The Tragic Impact of Using Education as a Weapon in War

Cameroon’s civil war has severely disrupted education, affecting over 700,000 students. Both the government and separatist groups have contributed to this crisis by using violence and intimidation against students and teachers. The Jumbam Family Foundation aims to support affected youth through scholarships and educational opportunities. Concrete actions are needed from both parties and the global community to restore educational rights and support those impacted by the war.

Since 2017, Cameroon has been embroiled in a devastating civil war marked by the alarming tactic of withholding education as a weapon. The conflict has resulted in the loss of thousands of lives, with a dire impact on the education of countless students whose fundamental right to learn has been systematically denied. Both parties involved in the conflict – the government and separatists – must reconsider their actions, as the misuse of education perpetuates suffering for all.

The anglophone crisis erupted in October 2016, when lawyers in the English-speaking regions protested against the imposition of francophone magistrates. They raised concerns about the magistrates’ inadequate grasp of English and Common Law. Subsequently, teachers protested against French-speaking educators being assigned to anglophone areas, citing incompatibility with the local educational standards and practices.

The government’s violent reaction to these demonstrations included beatings and fatalities, as reported by the International Crisis Group. This brutal response united many English speakers, including students, in their grievances about the marginalization of the anglophone population. This unrest led to the rise of separatist factions advocating for the independence of Ambazonia, the proposed name for a new state comprising Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions.

The United Nations reports that over 700,000 students have experienced interrupted education due to the ongoing conflict. The aspirations of an entire generation now remain unfulfilled. Both the separatists and the government share accountability for this educational crisis: the separatists enforce school closures and attack educational institutions, while the government fails to protect schools and employs excessive force in these areas.

Students in the Northwest and Southwest confront unattainable choices. Those who attempt to attend school face potential violence from separatist entities, viewing education as opposition to their cause, while remaining at home leads to limited opportunities. A study highlighted that only ten percent of schools operated in the 2018/2019 academic year. Teachers have largely fled, heightening the crisis in educational access.

As of early 2025, some parts of the anglophone regions are reopening, yet most schools remain nonfunctional due to fears of violence. Educational despair amidst poverty, malnutrition, and lack of basic needs continues to heighten the vulnerability of children, forcing many into hazardous labor, recruitment into armed groups, or exposure to gender-based violence. The psychological scars from this trauma will reverberate for generations.

The human toll of this war is incalculable; I witnessed its depth firsthand when my father, who fought for education, lost his life in the conflict. My family and I established the Jumbam Family Foundation to provide scholarships for those impacted by the crisis, facilitating their return to education. Though we have relocated students for safety, the emotional ramifications of displacement remain heavy. Local initiatives exist but only reach a fraction of affected youth.

It is imperative for both the government and the separatists to recognize that leveraging education as a weapon is ultimately self-defeating and harms their objectives. Genuine efforts for justice cannot be pursued at the expense of innocent children’s futures.

To mitigate the current challenges, several actions are essential: both parties must declare schools as zones of peace, complemented by international monitors; there should be investments in the repair and protection of damaged schools; a program to recruit and retrain teachers is crucial, ensuring their safety; and accessible trauma-informed support must be established for students and teachers alike.

The international community must also identify the disruption of education in Cameroon as a humanitarian crisis. Greater engagement and resources from the African Union, United Nations agencies such as UNICEF, and regional partners like Nigeria and Ghana are needed. Furthermore, grassroots organizations should receive support to enhance their educational efforts in the afflicted regions.

The war’s legacy will not only be counted in lives lost but also in unrealized dreams and potential. It is vital to safeguard the future of the youth, as the entire society suffers when education is sacrificed for conflict.

Desmond Jumbam is the co-founder and president of the Jumbam Family Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2020 that supports communities affected by the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon.

The educational crisis in Cameroon, fueled by the ongoing civil war, has drastically affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of students. Both the government and separatist groups must abandon the use of education as a weapon and take meaningful steps to restore this critical right. It is essential for the global community to recognize and address this humanitarian crisis to secure a safer and brighter future for Cameroon’s youth.

Original Source: allafrica.com