Marco Fanarafanara3@hotmail.com

OverviewFacts/FiguresWhy take a closer look?What constitutes an emergency?Effects of war and emergencies on educationWho is affected?How are they affected?Types of Negative consequencesPositive effects of emergenciesPossible solutions/Conclusion

Why take a closer look?“Each year more than 30 million people flee their

homes as a result of conflict and natural disaster and over 500,000 people are killed in war.”

‘man made’ and natural disasters have emerged as major barriers to the accomplishments of Education for All.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the Dakar World Education Forum Framework for Action (2000), the Millennium Development Goals (2000) state the right to quality education for all, including those affected by emergencies.

What constitutes an emergency?UNESCO notes “an educational emergency is

a crisis situation created by conflicts or natural disasters which have destabilized, disorganized or even destroyed the education system, and which requires an integrated process of crisis and post-crisis response.”

Emergencies’ often fall into two broad categories:

Natural disasters (e.g, hurricane/typhoon, earthquake, flood, and drought)

Human-made crises (e.g, war, internal conflict, and genocide)

‘Silent’ or ‘chronic emergencies’, such as persistent poverty, increasing numbers of children living on the streets, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, offer their own set challenges.

‘Complex emergencies’ are ‘situations that are man-made and are often caused by conflict or civil unrest, which may be compounded by a natural disaster’.

Effects of EmergenciesWars and emergencies have both direct and

indirect, intentional and unintentional effects on all members of the community, particularly women and children, the infrastructure, security, available materials, positive and negative changes to the educational system, and the overall social welfare of the community.

Armed conflict not only impedes the development process, it also erodes a country’s development foundation.

Infrastructure is damaged or destroyed, resources are diverted from routine maintenance of existing social and economic infrastructure and a country’s resource base is depleted.

• Materials are often damaged or destroyed and are often times unavailable in refugee camps

Teachers are displaced or need additional training and supervision in refugee camps

Internally displaced populations and populations not displaced but suffering from chronic insecurity are less able to access educational resources for their children because movement around the affected countries and areas for international staff engaged in education programmes in emergency and reconstruction settings are limited due to security concerns

How is Education affected?

There are often dramatic falls in student numbers, due to ongoing fear of attacks

Displacement of teachers, destruction and looting of infrastructure and materials

Collapse of local and sometimes national educational administration

Short term and long term psychological impact on learners and teachers

Vulnerable GroupsForced to leave their homes, villages or

countries due to their increased susceptibility as targets, women and children are identified as especially vulnerable in times of war and emergencies

Children face particular risks because they are more likely to be recruited into military service and/or act as a head of a household due to the loss their parents, and thus miss out on education

Young girls are particularly vulnerable to economic exploitation due to war and/or other emergencies and are at a higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other STDs as victims of sexual exploitation.

In the absence of education children may become subject to dominant paradigms of violence, antagonism, fear and mistrust.

Mental health problems from exposure to extreme violence, physical wounds and disabilities, lack of transportation, unwillingness to integrate in the schoolroom, shortage of food, or distrust of faculty all are clear signs of the social consequences of armed conflict.

Positive affects

Often times they allow for the possibility of reconstructing a social institution like education.

Weaknesses in education structures and content may have contributed to civil conflict, an emergency can provide an opportunity for positive change

Crisis can act as “windows of opportunities” for revaluating pre-existing systems and allow for the introduction of “radical innovations”.

Education and ConflictEducation can be used as a weapon in

cultural repression of minorities (the suppression of language, traditions, art forms, etc.)

Can serve to maintain inequality between social groups (unequal education)

For political purposes, and also negative practices of gender-based discrimination

Manipulation of history and textbooks for political purposes

There are those who take advantage “disaster opportunities” in order to implement quick and radical social and economic reforms in favour of the global free market economy.

Illegal trade in commodities during times of war and emergencies has an adverse effect of deteriorating access to education.

There is an increasing trend of conflicting parties to use natural resources to finance their wars, as such, education is not a priority.

SolutionsWhen implementing strategies or

recommendations for education in emergency situations, such application must not be seen as a ‘stop-gap’, but rather as longer term development programme

‘Capacity building’, identifies emergency education cannot be ‘rushed’, rather programmes must resist ‘quick-fix projects’ that demonstrate immediate results.

Emergency education must seek to go beyond relief to aim for development, such as building of democracy, and human rights.

When crisis affected people are not consulted about their ‘longer term needs’, short-term fixes may be had at the expense of long-term permanent damage.

The advancement of educational progress for girls and women should be based on a thorough understanding of the local culture and traditions within the local community as they themselves define them.

A sufficient level of security for civilians, more particularly girls and women, is necessary in relation to emergency education; A safe environment, free from violence and abuse, is a precondition for a sustainable recovery processes.

More recently there has been a rise in understanding for the need to include other forms of education, such as non-formal and informal.

Relevant and cultural specific learning materials, teacher training, as well community involvement are all essential to a successful education programme.

Participation of children in the planning and implementation of material is also essential to the process, as is focusing on child-centred teaching and learning.

By allowing for inclusive, participatory community involvement and ownership of the educational programme, will contribute to substantial progress in peace-building and social development.

Such involvement allows for “re-balancing inequities in terms of access and quality of treatment for different social groups that may have existed in the pre-conflict education system.”

There is a need to draw on local concerns, needs and knowledge of affected communities in order to compose a more holistic emergency educational programme.

In regards to curriculum a greater emphasis be placed the addressing the psychosocial needs of students, mainly due to a sense of loss of family, friends, livelihoods

Issues, such as conflict resolution skills, mine awareness, health and healthy lifestyles, decision making and assertiveness skills, early childhood care, adult education, monitoring and evaluation of education in emergencies, child soldiers, planning and transition, etc are other considerations to take into account when designing curriculum for an emergency education programme

The educational system as a whole, as opposed to just the curriculum, should be gender sensitive, and further, should pay special attention to equality diversity issues.

Disaster risk reduction has two key components: minimize vulnerability and increasing resilience (physical, social, economic, environmental) and the preparing for disasters at multiple levels including both formal and non-formal education

ConclusionThe neglect of education in times of war and

emergencies can lead to a self-perpetuating cycle of violence and poverty if not addressed immediately and adequately in the long term.

Consequently, children may grow up absent of the knowledge and life skills necessary to live a fulfilled life and promote peace.

School provides a safe zone for children, it protects them physically from the risks of the outside world and psychologically due to a sense of loss.

School also “provides children with the skills and knowledge to cope with increased risks, which in turn allows them to protect themselves.

In closing, we have seen education in times of war and emergencies is just as important, if not more, than in times of peace. Furthermore, any and all suggested solutions must include those directly involved in the crisis situation.

Thank you for your time