School buildings in parts of Cameroon's North West and South West regions are being used to house soldiers deployed to the Anglophone areas, according to residents, teachers and parents who spoke to the Cameroon Journal. Classrooms that should be preparing for pupils are instead serving as sleeping quarters, storage areas and bases for patrols.
What residents describe
In several localities, parents report that military trucks are parked in school compounds and that soldiers have set up camp inside classrooms. Furniture has been moved or damaged, and in some places the compounds are now off-limits to civilians. Teachers fear that the presence of troops will make the schools targets and discourage families from sending their children back once classes resume.
The situation is especially sensitive because the education system has been at the heart of the Anglophone crisis. The protests began in part with teachers opposing the posting of French-speaking staff to English-language schools, and many schools have remained closed during the boycott and ghost town operations.
Schools and international law
International standards discourage the use of schools for military purposes. The Safe Schools Declaration and associated guidelines call on armed forces to avoid using educational facilities in ways that put children at risk or prevent learning. Human rights organisations note that schools occupied by troops can become military objectives in the eyes of armed groups, endangering pupils and teachers long after soldiers leave.
Why it matters for children
- Pupils lose access to their classrooms when they are most needed
- Parents become reluctant to send children to schools linked to the military
- Damage to buildings and equipment delays the return to normal schooling
- Children may face harassment or danger near armed positions
The government's view
Officials have defended the deployment of troops as necessary to restore order and protect the population from separatist violence. The use of public buildings is often justified by the absence of barracks in remote areas. Critics answer that security operations should not come at the cost of children's right to education, and that alternative locations should be found.
A call for protection of education
Teachers' unions, church education secretariats and civil society groups have urged both the government and armed separatist groups to keep schools out of the conflict. They argue that education in the Anglophone regions has already suffered enough from the boycott, threats against teachers and attacks on school buildings.
For the communities concerned, the sight of soldiers in classrooms is a powerful symbol of how far the crisis has gone. Returning schools to their pupils would be a concrete gesture towards calm and a sign that the state intends to protect, not occupy, the spaces where children learn.