By L J Kingah
At least 223,749 children are completely out of school in Cameroon’s North-West and South-West regions, while 2,463 schools remain non-operational due to the prolonged Anglophone conflict.
The figures were disclosed by UNICEF in a report published on September 11, 2026, highlighting the devastating impact of the crisis on children’s access to education.
According to UNICEF, 2,005 schools are non-operational in the North-West Region, while another 458 schools have been shut down in the South-West Region. The crisis has forced families to flee their communities, leaving thousands of children without consistent access to formal education.
For many affected children, the disruption means missing several years of schooling and falling behind their peers.
UNICEF, with support from the European Union Humanitarian Aid and Cameroon’s education authorities, is implementing interventions to help children recover lost learning and return to school.
One of the key interventions is the Accelerated Curriculum for the Reintegration of Dropout Children, known as CARED. The programme provides accelerated lessons for children who have been out of school, focusing on foundational skills including reading, writing, mathematics, science, technology and environmental education.
The initiative is designed as a bridge back into formal education rather than a permanent alternative to conventional schooling.
UNICEF says teachers involved use multigrade teaching approaches to support children with different learning levels, while parents and communities are encouraged to support their return to school.
The organization highlighted the case of 10-year-old Aminatou, who fled Bamenda with her family and settled in Kumba, as one of the many children struggling to return to the classroom.
Despite these efforts, humanitarian actors warn that without a lasting solution to the conflict, hundreds of thousands of children risk remaining out of school.
