Only half of the children and youth in rural areas who gain access to education get beyond primary school according to the report. This means only 5 years of education. The main reasons are forced displacement, violence, abruptions in the school year, poverty, long distances between schools and homes and lack of teachers.
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“Too many children in Colombia have not been in school for years due to conflict. To get these children back to school will be key to secure peace and stabilization in Colombia,” said Christian Visnes, Country Director for NRC in Colombia.
On Saturday 10 December, Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos will receive the Nobel Peace Prize after having successfully negotiated a peace agreement with the FARC-EP, ending 52 years of conflict.
“The peace agreement between the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP represents a historic opportunity for the 8.2 million victims of the armed conflict. Implementation of the agreement will create a unique possibility for rural children and youth to finally overcome the crisis of forced displacement and be able to return to school”, said Mabel Gonzales, senior advisor at NOREF.
“The agreement is a tremendous achievement and brings much needed hope to the next generation of Colombians. But there is still a long way to go – and if Colombia is to achieve lasting peace it is crucial that children and youth in rural areas are provided with better opportunities,” said Visnes.
Inequality in education largely corresponds with the urban-rural divide. The rural areas have historically been most affected by armed conflict. There is now a three-year difference in learning levels between children in the same grade in urban and rural areas.
A study shows that 57 per cent of the children and youth recruited by armed groups came from poor families suffering from lack of sufficient access to food and who have on average been displaced 4.5 times by armed violence. Eight out of ten children and youth say they have received threats from an armed group to re-join. One out of ten say they might possibly return to an armed group.
“Children and youth who are lacking education, become an easy prey for non-state armed groups. The government should therefor increase their investment in education in rural areas most affected by conflict as a key element to stabilization,” said Visnes.
Although the Colombian government has demonstrated willingness to strengthen its education sector, the imbalance between the rural and the urban areas remain. Nearly 60 per cent of the municipalities in Colombia are rural. The public expenditure on education was 4,6 per cent of GDP in 2014. Of that, only the equivalent to 0.5 percent of the GDP reached the rural areas.
“The Colombian state has now the possibility to establish a meaningful presence in the forgotten rural territories, thereby offering people a peace dividend, and generating real changes and opportunities for those regions most affected by conflict”, said Gonzales of NOREF. “Rural children and youth need educational opportunities to be able to escape the cycle of recruitment and violence”.