“I miss my school”: BBC launches Arabic program for children in war zones

Tareq and Safaa are one of 30 million children graduating from school in the Middle East and North Africa, according to UNICEF, a UN Children’s Agency. It estimates that more than half of the population, 16.5 million people, are in Sudan alone.

In response, BBC World Services launched an Arabic version of its award-winning educational programme DARS or lessons.

Over the past year in Gaza, “over 600,000 children — that’s all school-age children in Gaza — have not been educated,” says UNICEF spokesman Saleem Oweis.

“We see patterns of how conflict, anxiety and crisis are truly harming children’s education and learning,” he adds.

In Sudan, nearly two years after the civil war exploded between the Army and paramilitary rapid supporters, millions of children live in refugee camps where education is available through local initiatives. .

In an interview with the BBC, Sudan’s Minister of Education Ahmed Khalifa highlights the scale of devastation.

“I didn’t spare,” he says. “There are around 15,000 public schools in Sudan. 60% to 70% of these schools are completely damaged, losing their foundations, infrastructure and books.

“Even in safer states, schools are suffering damage from systematic destruction by militias.”