Although a basic human right, a child’s education during war is the first thing to be taken away. As we have seen throughout history, access to education is one of the most important ways towards equality and a better life, presenting endless opportunities for those who have it while those who don’t unfortunately are judged and placed at the bottom of society. Education is the best way for many to ensure a future, and war challenges that.
According to UNICEF’s article, “Education Under Attack“, “Without access to education, a generation of children living in conflict will grow up without the skills they need to contribute to their countries and economies, exacerbating the already desperate situation for
millions of children and their families”. Not only do children have to experience a great deal of stress while fleeing their homes and countries, but the assimilation to their new environments often depend on them. Many immigrant parents who have unexpectedly fled their countries end up relying on their children as connections to the outside world, a common example being using children as translators as they tend to learn new languages must faster than parents. Beyond that, many children have to navigate their new education systems by themselves; figuring out which classes to take, what extracurriculars they can afford, what colleges to apply for and how to finance that, all things that pile up and get harder, starting with trying to escape a war.
For chil
dren living in conflict, schools, school buses, and other places of education are often one of the first places targeted due to the known impact on society that attacking children has, as well as the ease that attacking a defenseless area has. The infrastructure of schools are destroyed and places that already struggled to meet the demands of children, without the necessary technology, or even enough supplies. Teachers are also targeted during conflict, which increases the risk of a lack in education. Girls’ education is disproportionately affected as many girls’ schools close first in religious conflicts and parents pull out their daughters for fear of violence against them. Children who could not afford to go to school before, can’t even consider it when their lives are being upended.
According to the organization Educate A Child, “conflict threatens children’s’ security as they attempt to attend school, increases the likelihood for involvement in the military, child marriage, and exacerbates existing marginalization in society”. There are many children who do not end up resuming their education after a conflict is over, which exacerbates the problem already faced by those who have lost their homes, their money, and their lives. While there are many organizations, and individuals fighting for the right to a child’s education, we still have a long way to go in order to stop the suffering caused to children by war.
I think that this is one area where online education could be useful. To be fair, most wars occur in impoverished areas where access to technology and internet is not guaranteed. But technology improves over time, and eventually everybody will have access to it. Since nobody wants to send their child away during wartime, it would be far better for them to be able to learn from home. This way, at least their education would be able to continue during such a chaotic time.
Education is one of those things that the consequences aren’t seen in the short-term, but are seen in the longer term. I am sure the situation developing across Eastern Europe is a prime example of this. Ukraine was behind economically before Russia began their invasion, and this will undoubtably set them back for the time being. However, what we fail to see is the generation of unskilled workers who cannot carry the economy in the years following conflict.