TEACHER AGENCY IN CRISIS AFFECTED ZONES | Nanje Patrick

Cameroon is living through one of the world’s most neglected humanitarian crises.

Since 2016, schools in crisis-affected regions have been repeatedly attacked. Teaching, learning, and even advocating for education have often been framed as acts of defiance rather than rights. In this hostile environment, teachers have continued to show up—sometimes at great personal risk.

Against these odds, we recently concluded a research-informed learning session on Teacher Agency in Protracted Crisis, combined with practical training on peace education, psychosocial support, trauma-responsive teaching, and teacher wellbeing.

What our work continues to confirm is clear:

crisis does not only disrupt schooling—it reshapes the teaching profession itself.

Protracted insecurity has a profound impact on:

Teacher recruitment, as fewer young people see teaching as a safe or viable career;

Teacher retraining, as professional development systems collapse or become inaccessible;

Teacher retention, as stress, trauma, displacement, and burnout push educators out of the classroom.

Yet even within these constraints, teachers are not passive victims. When supported, they exercise agency—adapting curricula, creating safe spaces for learners, mediating conflict, and sustaining learning where systems struggle to function.

If we are serious about education in emergencies, we must move beyond infrastructure and enrolment targets. Teacher wellbeing, professional dignity, and agency are not optional add-ons—they are foundational to recovery and peacebuilding.

Education survives in crisis because teachers carry it. Supporting them is not charity; it is strategy.

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