Five years after IS defeat and children in Mosul are still struggling to access schools: NRC

School children and young adults in Mosul are still struggling to access education and jobs, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) warned on Wednesday.  

Mosul was retaken by government forces from Islamic State group militants on 10 July 2017 but five years later and the city is still devoid of many basic services, Caroline Zullo, the NRC's Policy and Advocacy Adviser in Iraq told The New Arab.

"Even five years after the military operations to retake Mosul, young people still struggle to access quality education and health services throughout the city," Zullo said by email.

"Mosul’s younger generation tell us that they do not feel their voices are heard as they try to rebuild their city. They need the skills and knowledge, as well as the opportunity for employment, to support themselves, their families, and their communities." 

There is a significant need to hire and train teachers to address the ongoing academic and psychosocial needs of children, as well as job creation, she added.

The NRC had earlier said that one in three schools in Mosul are in need of repair or not fit for use.

One in two students in Mosul are enrolled in schools with damaged structures while public roads and roads and hospitals, particularly in the west of the city where IS made a last stand, are also in disrepair, the NRC said in a statement. 

Rebuilding Mosul will take concerted efforts from local, national, and international bodies to get Iraq's second city back on its feet, Zullo said.

"Restoring a city that has seen such massive destruction is not an easy task, it needs the efforts of the national government and the international community, which shares a responsibility to bring back the basic aspects of life to the city," she said.

"The education sector only receives six percent of the national budget, which stands as the lowest in the region. Both the government and the international community must empower and invest in young people and their education and futures for the long-term recovery of the governorate." 

Around 100,000 people from Mosul are still displaced and 77,950 students in 185 schools need rehabilitation or repair after they were damaged in the war. 

Moscul faces other issues such as insecurity and shortages of fuel, leading to fears of a worsening economic situation in the north of Iraq.