UN and Nigeria building 2,500 homes for refugees from Boko Haram uprising so schools can open

FILE - In this Tuesday Sept. 9, 2014 file photo, civilians who fled their homes following an attack by Islamist militants in Bama, take refuge at a school in Maiduguri, Nigeria. A new refugee camp with 2,500 temporary homes is being built in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri, and must be built by the end of Nov. 2015, for some of the million-plus refugees there from the Boko Haram uprising giving another sign that few expect the conflict to end soon. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Wednesday Sept. 3, 2014, file photo, civilians who fled their homes following an attack by Islamist militants in Bama, take refuge at a school in Maiduguri, Nigeria. A new refugee camp with 2,500 temporary homes is being built in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri, and must be built by the end of Nov. 2015, for some of the million-plus refugees there from the Boko Haram uprising giving another sign that few expect the conflict to end soon. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola, File) (The Associated Press)

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – U.N. and government officials say they are building 2,500 temporary homes in Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri for some of the million-plus refugees there from the Boko Haram uprising.

The homes must be built by the end of November so refugees can be moved from public schools they are occupying to allow classes to resume. Hundreds of thousands of children have not been to school for more than 18 months because of the crisis.

No one knows how many refugees there are because most are living with friends, family and strangers who have taken them in. Doctors Without Borders put the number at 1 million in August and the number is growing.

The U.N. refugee agency says the new camp will house about 20,000 people.