Deadly armed conflict between forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the Government of National Accord (GNA) has constrained the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and left many of its neighborhood schools shuttered.
Estimates offered by the GNA’s education ministry and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) show that nearly 5,000 students have been denied access to education since the start of conflict in April, 2019.
Head of Education Supervision at the Municipality of Souk El-Jumaa (eastern Tripoli) Rashad Bisher revealed that four more schools have been closed this week due to the region's exposure to indiscriminate missile strikes.
Bisher, in a press statement, explained that the schools were closed down after a number of missiles had targeted the area.
State-run schools were meant to open on Oct. 13, but teachers angered by deteriorating living conditions and stagnant wages have staged sit-ins in Benghazi, Libya’s second city, and Tripoli, the capital.
Around 600,000 teachers called for an increase in salaries.
Schools reopened doors after a month and a half, following the dismissal of GNA Education Minister Othman Abdel-Jalil, who was replaced by Muhammad Al-Ammari.
Fighting has damaged many neighborhood schools in Tripoli.
Under such circumstances, parents resort to either homeschooling their children or transferring them to schools in safer areas.
UNICEF has previously monitored the closure of 10 schools in the Ain Zara municipality, south of Tripoli, which resulted in the deprivation of nearly 4,000 students of education.
Harmful violations of children's right to education have long-term effects on the development of an entire generation of Libyan boys and girls, UNICEF had noted.
