Burundi : schools in refugee camps paralyzed by delayed teacher’s salaries

SOS Médias Burundi

Muyinga, March 17, 2026 — School activities are severely disrupted in several refugee camps in northern and eastern Burundi. The cause : delayed teachers’ salaries, with teachers claiming they haven’t received their pay since January.

This situation directly impacts the operation of schools and jeopardizes the continuity of education for thousands of refugee children living in these camps.

Teachers, who play a vital role in the guidance and education of refugee children, are expressing their frustration. According to them, their monthly salary of 115,000 Burundi francs, already considered insufficient to cover basic needs, becomes even more difficult to bear when it is not paid on time.

A teacher at the Kinama camp, speaking on condition of anonymity, confided :

“We work in difficult conditions, but we persevere because we know education is important for these children. However, it has now been two months since we received our salaries. 115,000 Burundi francs is already a struggle to make ends meet, but when that salary is late, it becomes nearly impossible. Some teachers no longer even have enough to buy food for their families, especially since this money also helped us supplement the WFP ration, which was recently reduced.”

The WFP, the World Food Program, is responsible for distributing food in various refugee camps around the world.

Faced with these difficulties, the motivation of the teaching staff has significantly declined. In several schools, classes are shortened and sometimes even suspended. Some teachers are reduced to simply taking attendance before sending students home, due to a lack of motivation and stable working conditions.

This situation is also worrying parents, who fear for their children’s future education.

Célestin, a parent of a student attending the secondary school in the Musasa camp, explains :

“Our children leave for school in the morning with their notebooks, but they often return after only two hours. Sometimes, they tell us that the teacher only came to take attendance before telling them to go home. We are very worried because education is the only thing that can offer our children a better future.”

A problem that goes beyond teachers

The crisis is not limited to educational staff. Several partner organizations of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are also facing a lack of funding. Some have been forced to reduce their staff by up to 50%, affecting both Burundian workers and Congolese refugees who supported humanitarian activities.

Among these organizations is the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), which is responsible for education in several camps. According to several sources on the ground, the organization is facing the same financial difficulties as other humanitarian partners operating in the camps.

This reduction in human and financial resources risks having lasting consequences on essential services, particularly in the field of education.

Appeal to authorities and humanitarian partners

As refugee children rely heavily on these schools to continue their education, teachers and parents are making an urgent appeal to authorities and humanitarian partners to ensure the normal resumption of classes and guarantee a stable educational future for pupils in the camps.

It should be noted that Burundi is currently hosting more than 200,000 Congolese refugees, over 90% of whom live in camps and refugee sites. The majority of them are children and young people of school age.