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afrol News, 6 October - Some 2 million Togolese school children return to classroom on Monday after classes have been delayed by floods that caused misery and destruction in most parts of the West Africa region.

Floods in the region had wrecked infrastructure, homes and crops and spreading diseases, prompting the United Nations Humanitarian Agency (OCHA) to call on West African governments to meet to coordinate humanitarian efforts and draw up longer-term solutions to the seasonal flooding threat.

In September, heavy rains and floods across most West Africa had killed more than 30 people and made over 130,000 others homeless, OCHA said. Togo, Ghana, Niger, Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal among the hardest hit countries.

Last year, serious rainy season floods killed hundreds of people across Africa.

As a sign of its commitment to make basic education accessible, the Togolese government announced the introduction of free school for children between six and nine. This is significant in a country where school attendance and quality of education had seriously dropped since 1990.

The package will be available to parents who present their children's birth certificates to public schools.

Already, parents in regions where children's births are not registered expressed worry. But the government said there is no cause for alarm, as efforts will soon be underway to ascertain the age of these children as well as issue them new birth certificates.

By staff writer

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