The United Nations has stated in a report that more than 13 million children are currently being denied an education, as schools continue to get caught in the middle of conflicts in the Middle East and Africa.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) stated on Thursday that more than 8,850 schools have been rendered unusable in six countries and territories across the region due to the escalating violence, reported Al Jazeera.
The UNICEF report further states that some children have been coming under fire or going through active frontlines en route to their schools. Numerous teachers have also quit their jobs due to the increasing danger, and a growing number of parents are opting to keep their children at home, according to CNN.
"With more than 13 million children already driven from classrooms by conflict, it is no exaggeration to say that the education prospects of a generation of children are in the balance," the report said.
Some of the schools have also been converted into bomb shelters for civilians who have found themselves caught in the crossfire.
Peter Salama, regional director for the UNICEF in the Middle East and North Africa, said that the conflict has become a massive detriment to the education of the countries involved.
"The destructive impact of conflict is being felt by children right across the region," he said. "It's not just the physical damage being done to schools, but the despair felt by a generation of schoolchildren who see their hopes and futures shattered."
Children have become the unfortunate casualties in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and Africa, with the UNICEF stating that the previous year was a "devastating year" for children in the war-torn countries, as previously reported by HNGN.
