The South West and North West Women Task Force have joined the general call for effective resumption of school in the two Anglophone troubled regions of Cameroon.
According to a release issued by the president, Omam Esther Njomo, a copy of which The SUN procured, all stakeholders must assume their responsibilities and uplift the ban on education in the North West and South West regions.
The release states that: “We, the Mothers, Sisters and Aunties; call on all key stakeholders to assume their responsibilities accordingly and uplift the ban on education and caution their fighters to stop attacking academic institutions, teachers, as well as students and to evacuate school premises, free all students trapped in prison cells and camps and speed up the reconstruction and rehabilitation of schools affected by the crisis; and ensure the security of pupils and students by ending hostilities and providing enabling conditions for safe schools.”
The release further outlines six reasons why schools should resume come September 2019 in the NW/SW Regions of Cameroon as follows:
The first is to respect and uphold the fundamental rights of children to education and protection.
Secondly, they opined that, three years of no schools have been an enormous sacrifice and the damage cannot be over emphasized. In the third instancce, preventing children from further marginalization for want of education is enough reason for them to stay in classes. The task force believes that children are being exposed to all kinds of malpractices including drug abuse, sexual exploitation, trafficking, child marriage, early pregnancy, and the accompanying trauma and long-lasting emotional distress that these experiences bring. The crisis, according to the release, is human-centered and that it is for a better future for the children and education is the only guarantee for their future. Finally, they reveal that without school resumption, the North West and South West regions will be missing out in the achievement of SDG 4 on education and related commitments.