Boni elders have asked the national government to intervene and rescue the area education sector from collapse.
Basuba, Milimani, Mangai, Mararani and Kiangwe primary schools were all torched and vandalised by militants in 2014 and 2017 and teachers fled.
Basuba is considered a terror-prone area owing to its close proximity to the infamous Boni Forest, which is believed to be a hideout for al Shabaab militants.
Residents have constantly apportioned blame on government for failing to secure the region and deploying teachers.
Many pupils haven’t set foot in a classroom since the schools were shut in 2014.
A few have been lucky to be transferred to safer learning centres in Mokowe and Kiunga.
The schools in Boni cater to learners from underprivileged communities like the Bonis, Sanye and Orma.
On Wednesday, Boni elder Ali Gubo said the government is to blame for lack of teachers despite numerous assurances of security, leaving Boni learners unattended for those years.
“They really need to tell us why our schools can't reopen and why there are no teachers. Are we supposed to keep quiet when our children suffer?” Gubo asked.
A total of 14 teachers from Basuba were recalled by the Teachers Service Commission and redeployed to safer zones between 2014 and 2016.
Six more were interdicted around the same time for desertion citing threats from al Shabaab.
The commission has previously held that they will not deploy teachers to terror-prone areas until government can guarantee their security.
Boni elder Sharuti Dida proposed that TSC trains and recruits Form 4 leavers from the community and post them as teachers in the schools.
“If they don’t want to post other people let them train and recruit from within to salvage the situation. We can’t go on like this," Dida said.
Until recently, Boni learners have had to be airlifted to their school as major roads connecting the villages have been targeted by al Shabaab who plant explosives.
This means residents have limited number of roads they can use to move around.
Many areas in Boni forest are under the Linda Boni security operation team, whose aim is to flush out al Shabaab.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
