CDH-VICAR Condemns School Closures Endangering Refugee Children’s Right to Education

CDH/VICAR has documented a concerning escalation in the erosion of educational access for Burundian refugee children in the Nyarugusu camp. On Monday, 13 October 2025, three primary schools—UWEZO, URAFIKI, and FURAHA—were shut down without adequate alternatives. With only three schools remaining operational, more than 12,000 refugee children are now being forced into severely overcrowded learning spaces, putting both their safety and their right to education at serious risk.

This deliberate reduction in educational infrastructure threatens to dismantle one of the few remaining sources of stability for children living in displacement. Families report growing fear, uncertainty, and despair as they watch essential services crumble. School closures not only interrupt learning but also undermine psychosocial well-being, protection systems, and long-term opportunities for an entire generation already exposed to trauma and insecurity.

Evidence collected by CDH/VICAR points to a pattern of restrictive measures targeting Burundian refugees, consistent with policies aimed at pressuring them into “voluntary” return. By reducing access to schools, authorities and humanitarian actors are creating conditions that make daily life increasingly untenable—an approach that contradicts international refugee protection standards and violates the principle of non-refoulement. Such actions amount to coercive tactics, not legitimate policy decisions.

In response, CDH/VICAR is intensifying its monitoring and advocacy efforts to ensure that the rights of refugee children are upheld. The organisation is engaging with education partners, legal experts, and protection actors to challenge these harmful measures and promote immediate reopening of schools. CDH/VICAR reaffirms that access to education is a non-negotiable right and calls on Tanzanian authorities and UNHCR to reverse these closures and uphold their obligations under international law.