Border schools under Boko Haram threat

A teacher of English at the Government School Kolofata, Pamela Singeh, has dissuaded students from visiting school premises in towns along the border with Borno State in Nigeria, home to the Boko Haram terrorist group.

Answering questions from reporters in Kolofata, September 9, as to why some schools were seemingly closed despite the resumption of schools, Pamela expressed her fears.

“I cannot advise any child to go to school in the border zone because it is dangerous. Look at some classrooms; they have been destroyed by Boko Haram. So, I would not advise or allow any child to go to school in this area”.

Taking refuge in a military camp, the teacher posits that it is risky to go to school in the area.

A report on Voice of America reveals that the turnout of students and teachers in this part of the country is low. In kolofata for example, 1,000 children were expected to start in Government schools last week, but only a few students showed up.

One of the few students who turned up for school, Rene Foncha, told this reporter that the fear of attacks from Boko Haram has scared away fellow students.

“There is no way we can go to school. Some time ago, the Boko Haram kidnapped some students in Nigeria and they have been attacking schools in the border zones of Cameroon,” he said.

Foncha revealed that his school was attacked two weeks before the reopening day. In the course of the armed confrontation between the Boko Haram and Cameroonian soldiers, walls of the were knocked down.

Despite these fears, the Government holds that measures have been put in place to ensure that students go to school in all security. Elements of the Rapid Intervention Batallion, BIR, and other forces have been deployed to guard the areas concerned against the Boko Haram.

With the occupation of some of these school structures by the increasing number of refugees from neighbouring Nigeria, Government officials have promised to relocate the population to more secure areas.

A recent communiqué issued by the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma, stated that in the latest attack in Fotokol, over one hundred assailants were killed, with some of their facilities destroyed. The defeat, according to the communiqué, has caused the assailants to relocate their camps.