« In Mali, 2,444 schools remain closed and 733,000 pupils risk being deprived of schooling »
In Mali, 2,444 schools remained closed across several central and northern regions, leaving at least 733,000 students at risk of missing out on classes. These Education Cluster data, compiled for April 2026 and published in June, shed light on the scale of obstacles to schooling in part of the Sahel. ()
Clos linked to violence and displacement
The identified causes are manifold. Jihadist attacks target schools, while teachers face threats. Population displacements also contribute to school clos; some buildings are occupied by displaced families.
The Education Cluster is a coordination mechanism dedicated to education in emergencies. In Mali, it is managed in partnership with the Ministry of Education, UNICEF, and Save the Children, and operates particularly in conflict-affected central and northern regions. ()
A crisis that goes beyond Mali
In Burkina Faso, schools have also been forced to close due to jihadist violence, UNICEF notes, according to information reported by DW. Niger faces similar difficulties across several border regions: insecurity, population displacement, and attacks on infrastructure are weakening its education system.
A number of humanitarian organizations describe the education crisis in the central Sahel as one of the most severe in the world. However, the data cited here do not detail the number of closed schools or affected students across all countries in the region.
Access to classrooms remains tied to security
The military authorities of the Alliance of Sahel States countries present education as a priority in their rhetoric. Yet the clos described in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger demonstrate that insecurity remains a major obstacle to the resumption of schooling. As long as it prevents schools from operating, millions of children could remain deprived of education, according to the report shared by DW.
Source: DW-WORLD´s French Homepage (www.dw.com)
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