DRC: Over 375,000 Children Out of School in North Kivu at Risk of Violence

KINSHASA, (March 7, 2025) – About 375,000 children are missing out on education and are vulnerable to violence and recruitment by armed groups in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where about 17% of schools are closed following an escalation in conflict this year, Save the Children said.

A new report from the DRC Education Cluster – a coordination group of organizations delivering emergency education, including Save the Children – shows children's attendance at schools has fallen significantly in North Kivu due to an intense increase in fighting since January, when 1.3 million students were enrolled to start learning. 

Currently, 775 schools are closed across North Kivu, and many have been converted into shelters for displaced families. The eastern provinces of North and South Kivu are home to more than 4.6 million displaced people. 

Beyond missing out on vital education, children out of school in North Kivu are at grave risk of violence, including sexual violence, and recruitment by armed groups, said Save the Children. A horrifying 895 cases of rape, on average more than 60 a day, were reported in the region in the last two weeks of February alone, including against children, according to the UN. Children also face risks from explosive remnants of war, which remain in fields and villages. 

Conflict in DRC has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, with nearly 7 million people, including at least 3.5 million children, displaced and more than 26 million people – or 1 in 4 people – in need of humanitarian assistance.  The renewed violence in the South and North Kivu region of the eastern DRC since January has led to the mass displacement of thousands of people and created a climate of fear and uncertainty in the regions. Close to 80,000 people have fled the armed clashes into neighboring countries since January, according to the UN. 

Julienne*, 15, was supported by Save the Children to attend school before the uptick in violence. Now, she is out of school and fears for her future: 

"I really like learning, and I have dreams of becoming a humanitarian worker - a reality that was in my grasp. "Unfortunately, with clashes taking place in our displaced persons camp, we were forced to flee again and abandoned everything to save our lives. I left behind my school supplies that Save the Children had just given me in January. Now I have no other hope of returning to school because we are displaced again to another place, without anything that can allow me to return to school; I don't know what I could do in life without studying." 

Greg Ramm, Save the Children's Country Director in DRC, said:

 "The situation is catastrophic. Children are being denied their fundamental right to education, and the long-term consequences for their future and the future of the country are dire. The closure of schools not only deprives children of education but also exposes them to increased risks of recruitment by armed groups, child labour and other forms of exploitation. All parties to the conflict should respect the rights of children and ensure their access to education while the international community should provide urgent support to the education sector in DRC." 

Save the Children started working in eastern DRC in 1994, and is currently working with 13 local partners, international partners, and government authorities to deliver critical health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, child protection and education support to children and their families.