Weekly Global Education News | August 25, 2017
Update on issues affecting teachers, children, and schools around the world

UNICEF warns use of children as ‘human bombs’ is on the rise in north-east Nigeria
“The United Nations children agency today expressed extreme concern at the appalling increase in the cruel and calculated use of children, especially girls, as “human bombs” in north-east Nigeria.
“Since the beginning of January 2017, 83 children had been used as so-called human bombs, 55 being girls, most of them often under 15 years old,” UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson Marixie Mercado told reporters at today’s regular press briefing in Geneva.”
See also: World Bank commits N31.6 million to education in Nigeria
The long way to education
This slideshow by the Global Partnership for Education highlights “the many challenges children and young people around the world face when trying to access a quality education.”
UNICEF Canada: Education In Emergencies
Samoa votes against reintroducing corporal punishment in schools
“This was the right decision. Corporal punishment violates children’s rights. It undermines multiple other rights as well, including their right to education. As with many policies, this one has a gendered dimension, affecting boys more than girls. As may be expected, it has also been shown to have clear links to increased student drop out, especially for children from low income and migrant families already disadvantaged by economic pressures.”
“Youth are not the future; they are the present” | Interview with Oley Dibba-Wadda, Executive Secretary of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)
“The challenge that youth are facing, first and foremost, is skills for employability. It is a fundamental issue. What we have realised in education is that going to school has not necessarily translated into quality learning. The learning being taught in schools does not resonate with the current job market.”
Child-friendly spaces offer respite for Raqqa’s displaced children
“The ongoing military operation in Raqqa has cut off the city from all directions, trapping an estimated 10,000–25,000 people inside — almost half of them children.
UNICEF is deeply concerned about the safety of these children amidst intense fighting. Desperately needed humanitarian assistance isn’t reaching children and families trapped inside the city, putting them at risk of disease and even death.”
See also: Syria: UNICEF cites conflict’s ‘staggering’ impact on children; calls for urgent protection

