Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) reports that no school students in Tigray have been able to register for exams to enter university, and (2) the impact this will have on the education of girls in that region.

An estimated 2.7 million children in Northern Ethiopia are affected by destroyed or damaged schools, or by schools being used as shelters for internally displaced people (IDPs). In Debre Birhan (Amhara) children are missing out on learning opportunities due to six schools being used as collective sites for newly displaced people. There are also reports of property destruction by the IDPs in the schools and the schools will need rehabilitation after the IDPs have left. In parts of Oromia and Benishangul Gumz the education infrastructures were heavily damaged by looting and vandalism and the education system is reportedly close to collapse. As the conflict continues children, especially girls, are at increased risk of gender-based violence, child marriage, and sexual exploitation and abuse. We will keep under consideration how to support education of children affected by conflict in future programming.