Learning on the move

This policy brief analyzes the effects of insecurity on education in the Sahel, highlighting how attacks against schools and forced displacement disrupt learning. With over 9,000 schools closed because of insecurity in the Central Sahel, with the majority in the Liptako-Gourma area, and 3.3 million people displaced, the region faces a protracted educational crisis that requires both emergency measures and long-term planning.

Challenging conditions are shaping educational aspirations and outcomes in gendered ways. The specific needs of adolescents, particularly girls, are often overlooked, further exacerbating exclusion. In insecure areas, girls are at risk for increased violence on the way to and from school and within school premises, resulting in lower retention and high dropout rates. Crises and displacement not only worsen gender inequalities in education but also shift gender norms. For example, women taking on leadership roles is a change that could shape educational aspirations, especially for girls. A multisectoral approach addressing child protection, sanitation, nutrition, and mental health can mitigate major barriers to education for forcibly displaced girls.

This brief argues for a joint regional and subnational lens to understanding the crisis of education and forced displacement in the Sahel, emphasizing the need for relevant programs that consider educational aspirations; shifting social and gender norms; and structural barriers to maintain, demand, and ensure reentry, learning, and retention. The brief concludes with recommendations focused on four dimensions of inclusion—availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability—drawing on findings from field research conducted in Niger and an analysis of secondary data covering Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.