Training Workshop on Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction

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Monitoring Education Programmes in Zamborra  Through the process of dissemination, promotion and piloting of the Minimum Standards, users of the standards have reported that the framework provides a common language among staff, agencies, members of affected communities and governments, and thus constitutes a common starting point for action. The standards are being used for capacity-building and training, and to promote education as a priority humanitarian response. Lessons learned from implementation around the world have revealed, however, a need for training materials and training workshops for those working in the fields of education in emergencies, protection and humanitarian response.
As a result the Working Group undertook a process to develop this workshop on "Understanding and Using the Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction." It is the hope of the Working Group that the materials included in this Workbook will be a useful tool to enhance your knowledge, understanding and application of the Minimum Standards in the situations in which you work. More specifically we hope that as a result of the training:

Workshop Overview and Suggested Agenda
This workbook is the accompanying document for your training workshop in the Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction. It is your personal property. You should use it to take notes that are important to you and your current situation.
This training workshop has been designed with the same philosophy as permeates the minimum standards themselves. It is participatory and requires you to communicate and work together with your colleagues. It has also been designed to provide a range of situations which, while they may not exactly reflect the situation in which you work, do reflect the most common situations faced by humanitarian workers who work with education in emergencies.
The training covers all the aspects of education in emergencies, chronic crises and early reconstruction and also covers all aspects of the project cycle although these have not been formally identified as many people do not work through the same project cycle.
We trust that this workbook will also act as a manual to assist you while working with the minimum standards and using them to provide more effective education to those children most in need.
We hope you enjoy this opportunity to understand the uses of the minimum standards.

What are standards, indicators and guidance notes?
Space for your notes:

Education in Emergencies
 Wars and natural disasters deny generations the knowledge and opportunities that an education can provide. Education in emergencies, chronic crises and early reconstruction must be seen in a broad context; it is education that protects the well being, fosters learning opportunities, and nurtures the overall development (social, emotional, cognitive, and physical) of people affected by conflicts and disasters.
 Education is a right. This right is articulated in various international humanitarian and human rights instruments, including the Geneva Conventions, which apply in times of war, as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and many regional rights instruments.
 Education in emergencies is a necessity that can be both life-sustaining and life-saving, providing physical, psychosocial and cognitive protection. It sustains life by offering structure, stability and hope for the future during a time of crisis, particularly for children and adolescents, and provides essential building blocks for future economic stability. It also helps to heal bad experiences by building skills, and supporting conflict resolution and peace-building. Education in emergencies saves lives by directly protecting against exploitation and harm, and by disseminating key survival messages, such as landmine safety or HIV/AIDS prevention.
 Education is prioritized by communities. Communities often start up some kind of education/school themselves during an emergency. Maintaining this during a crisis can be difficult, however, due to diminished local capacities and fewer resources. Emergencies offer opportunities to improve the quality of and access to education.
 Education response in emergencies is focused on meeting the actual needs of the affected population, as well as on formal schooling. The needs depend on the phases and the situation:


The acute/flight/displacement phase: Crucial information/messages, such as mine, health and environment risks etc, and emphasis on psychosocial and recreational elements  The chronic or coping phase: organized learning; formal and non-formal, including messages and topics to prepare for return (if displaced), for the future, risk elements and also peace building and human rights education  The return, reintegration and rehabilitation phase: facing the future, rebuilding and upgrading the whole school system. Without disregarding the devastation that may have been caused to the education system, this phase should make use of the positive opportunities that may follow in the aftermath of an emergency. These opportunities may involve the development of more equal gender policies and practices and the revision of previously divisive curriculum and teaching practices, and requires that sufficient time is given for curriculum development, training of teachers and the gradual development towards a new defined goal.
 Children and youth have enormous potential, for learning, for cooperation and for contributing to society. This potential can be constructive or destructive; children and youth without meaningful opportunities and positive influences are easily recruited or attracted by alternative and often negative activities. Every society depends on the next generation that is gradually taking over, and no society can afford to lose the constructive potential of its young people; it must be safe-guarded and cared for even in crisis situations. At the same time, in conflict situations, education may become embroiled in problems that spurred the emergency in the first place. The denial of education to certain groups within a society may be used as a weapon, or education may be used to suppress certain languages, traditions, art forms, religious practices and cultural practices. Textbooks can be manipulated for political purposes. Therefore, while education can play a crucial role in the process of reconciliation and reconstruction, care must be taken to address its potentially negative power.

Gaps in the Provision of Quality Education Endangers a Peaceful Future
 There are many gaps in the provision of education in emergencies. These range from a lack of access, quality and response coordination in general to the exclusion of specific groups within the populations, such as girls or adolescents. For instance, with regard to access, it is estimated that over 80 percent of the reported 113 million school-aged children not enrolled in school are living in crisis and post-crisis countries. 1 Another key gap concerns a lack of funding; traditionally, education in emergency situations has been seen, not as a humanitarian priority, but as a long-term development activity.
 The result of these gaps is that education falls through the cracks. Uneducated children and adults are vulnerable to a future of poverty and violence and lack the more complex skills needed to contribute to their society's peaceful reintegration, reconstruction and sustainable development. In particular, without the stability and structure that education provides in emergency situations, children and adolescents are more vulnerable to exploitation and harm, including abduction, child soldiering and sexual and gender-based violence. Educational learning environments (whether formal or non-formal) are one of the most significant social structures in young people's lives. In the midst of loss and change, absence of learning and schooling intensifies the impact of conflict.  In recent years, awareness of the need for non-formal and formal education programmes in emergency situations has increased. Two issues in particular have come to the fore: how to ensure a certain level of quality and accountability in emergency education; and how to 'mainstream' education as a priority humanitarian response. In 2002, INEE began looking at the Sphere Project's example of how to accomplish these two objectives. The Sphere Project, launched in 1997 by a group of humanitarian NGOs and the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, is based on two core beliefs: that all possible steps should be taken to alleviate human suffering arising out of calamity and conflict, and that those affected by disaster have a right to life with dignity and therefore a right to assistance. The Sphere Humanitarian Charter describes the core principles that govern humanitarian action and reasserts the right of populations affected by emergencies to protection and assistance. The minimum standards cover the sectors of water, sanitation and hygiene promotion; food security, nutrition and food aid; shelter, settlement and non-food items; and health services. They are aimed at improving the quality of assistance provided to people affected by disasters and improving the accountability of states and humanitarian agencies.   Indicator: Signals that show whether a standard has been attained. They provide a way of measuring and communicating the impact, or result of programmes as well as the process, or methods used. They can be qualitative or quantitative.  Guidance notes: These include specific points to consider when applying the standards in different situations, guidance on tackling practical difficulties and advice on priority issues. They may also include critical issues relating to the standards or indicators, or describe dilemmas, controversies or gaps in current knowledge.

The Initiative to Develop Minimum Standards: the INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards and the Sphere Project
 INEE's minimum standards serve as a common starting point --presenting a common language and framework--for the international community in providing guidance and tools on how to reach a minimum level of educational quality. They will help to enhance accountability and predictability among humanitarian actors, and thus help to improve coordination among partners, including education authorities. They will be a capacity-building and training tool to enhance the quality of education assistance, and they will also contribute to strengthening the resiliency of education ministries by preparing and equipping them to ensure that the minimum standards are implemented.
The minimum standards will serve as a strong and concrete advocacy tool with which to promote education as a priority response to humanitarian organizations, governments, donors and populations affected by crisis. In addition, the establishment of standards that articulate the minimum level of educational service to be attained, along with indicators and guidance notes on how to reach the standards, will give government and humanitarian workers the tools that they need to address the Education for All and UN Millennium Development Goals. Furthermore, the consultative process of developing and implementing standards will strengthen the education and humanitarian community by linking beneficiaries, practitioners, policy-makers and academics through discussions on best practice.

Development of Global Minimum Standards: Building from the Ground
 In 2003, the INEE Working Group began facilitating the development of standards, indicators and guidance notes that articulate a minimum level of educational quality and access in emergencies and the early reconstruction phase. Over 2,250 individuals from more than 50 countries contributed to the development of the minimum standards. The minimum standards were developed, debated and agreed upon through a participatory process of: 1. On-line consultation inputs via the INEE listserv 2. Community-level, national, sub-regional and regional consultations 3. A peer review process Information gathered from each step was used to inform the next phase of the process.
 This model reflects lessons learned from the Sphere Project's management process and emphasizes broad, transparent, cost-effective and consultative decision-making. One concrete way in which INEE's Minimum Standards process reflects the lessons learned from the Sphere Project is the inclusiveness of the initiative. While Sphere has been an NGO-led initiative, the Working Group is made up of both UN and NGO organisations. The Working Group made special efforts to ensure that representatives from a variety of levels, including households, schools and communities, local authorities, ministry officials, funding agencies and implementers, were actively involved throughout the consultative process in order to ensure relevance to and buy-in from all education stakeholders.  Community-level, national, sub-regional and regional consultations: INEE members around the world coordinated over 110 local, national and sub-regional consultations in 47 countries to gather input and information from over 1,900 representatives from affected communities, including students, teachers and other education personnel, NGO, government and UN staff, donors and academics. (You can find information on the specifics of these consultations (location, dates, organizations represented) at www.ineesite.org/standards.) The results from these consultations fed into four regional consultations, which were held between January and May 2004, covering Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe. Delegates at the regional consultations built upon the standards, indicators and guidance notes developed at the national and local consultations, as well as over 100 INEE listserv responses, to develop regional minimum standards. The 137 delegates to these regional consultations included representatives from affected populations, international and local NGOs, governments and UN agencies in 51 countries. Minimum Standards Common to All Categories: focuses on the essential areas of community participation and utilization of local resources when applying the standards in this handbook, as well as ensuring that emergency education responses are based on an initial assessment that is followed by an appropriate response and continued monitoring and evaluation.
 Access and Learning Environment: focuses on partnerships to promote access to learning opportunities as well as inter-sectoral linkages with, for example, health, water and sanitation, food aid (nutrition) and shelter, to enhance security and physical, cognitive and psychological well-being.  It is important to remember that all the categories are interconnected, and that frequently standards described in one category need to be addressed in conjunction with standards described in others.
Where appropriate, guidance notes identify linkages to other relevant standards, indicators or guidance notes. In addition, cross-cutting issues, such as human and children's rights, gender, the right of the population to participate, HIV/AIDS, disability and vulnerability, have been incorporated into the relevant standards rather than being dealt with in a separate section.
 Timeframe: The timeframe in which the minimum standards are used depends largely on the context.
They are applicable in a wide range of emergency settings, from early response in emergencies to early reconstruction stages, and may be used by a diverse audience. Indicators in the handbook are not universally applicable to every situation, nor to every potential user. It may take weeks, months or even years to achieve some of the standards and indicators specified. In some cases the minimum standards and indicators may be achieved without the need for external assistance; in other cases it may be necessary for education authorities and agencies to collaborate to achieve them. When applying these standards and indicators, it is important that all relevant actors agree on a timeframe for implementation and for achieving results.
 Scope and limitations: The standards for the different sections do not stand alone; they are interdependent. Inevitably, however, there is a tension between the formulation of universal standards and the ability to apply them in practice. Every context is different. For this reason, the global development process used to formulate the standards ensured the wide and broad-based participation of humanitarian workers, educators, governments, education authorities, civil society actors and affected people from different regional, country and local contexts. In some instances, local factors may make the realisation of the minimum standards and key indicators unattainable. When this is the case, the gap between the standards and indicators listed in the handbook and the ones reached in actual practice must be described, and the reasons for the gap, and what needs to be changed in order to realise the standards, must be explained.
 The INEE Minimum Standards will not solve all of the problems of educational response; however, they do offer a tool for humanitarian agencies, governments and local populations to enhance the effectiveness and quality of their educational assistance, and thus to make a significant difference in the lives of people affected by disaster. The minimum standards handbook is the first step toward ensuring that education initiatives in emergency situations lay a solid and sound basis for post-conflict and disaster reconstruction.   Review the INEE Minimum Standards categories and standards on the next page. In groups of three, discuss the questions below.

Implementation: Promoting and using the INEE Minimum Standards
1. Which of the standards has your organisation (or programme) achieved?
2. Which standards are not being met?
3. What are the obstacles to achieving the standards that are not being met?
4. What must be done in order to meet the standards that are not currently being met? How long will it take? (Consider the resources that are available to your organisation as well as agreements or partnerships that could be effectively used to help meet the standards.)   There is a transparent coordination mechanism for emergency education activities, including effective information sharing between stakeholders. States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to education … and with a view to achieving the full realization of this right: primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all; secondary education in its different forms, including technical and vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education; higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education; fundamental education shall be encouraged or intensified as far as possible for those persons who have not received or completed the whole period of their primary education."

The Legal Frameworks behind the Minimum Standards
 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child  Article 28 "States Parties recognize the right of the child to education and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular: (a) make primary education compulsory and available free to all; (b) encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, make them available and accessible to every child and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need; (c) make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means."  Article 29 "States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to: (a) The development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential; (b) The development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations; (c) The development of respect for the child's parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilizations different from his or her own; (d) The preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin; (e) The development of respect for the natural environment.
"No part of the present article or article 28 shall be construed so as to interfere with the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions, subject always to the observance of the principle set forth in [the above paragraph] and to the requirements that the education given in such institutions shall conform to such minimum standards as may be laid down by the State."  Article 2 "States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status."  Article 31 "States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity."

Reading 1.3. The Sphere Project Humanitarian Charter 3
Humanitarian agencies committed to this Charter and to the Minimum Standards will aim to achieve defined levels of service for people affected by calamity or armed conflict, and to promote the observance of fundamental humanitarian principles.
The Humanitarian Charter expresses agencies' commitment to these principles and to achieving the Minimum Standards. This commitment is based on agencies' appreciation of their own ethical obligations, and reflects the rights and duties enshrined in international law in respect of which states and other parties have established obligations.
The Charter is concerned with the most basic requirements for sustaining the lives and dignity of those affected by calamity or conflict. The Minimum Standards which follow aim to quantify these requirements with regard to people's need for water, sanitation, nutrition, food, shelter and health care. Taken together, the Humanitarian Charter and the Minimum Standards contribute to an operational framework for accountability in humanitarian assistance efforts.

Principles
We reaffirm our belief in the humanitarian imperative and its primacy. By this we mean the belief that all possible steps should be taken to prevent or alleviate human suffering arising out of conflict or calamity, and that civilians so affected have a right to protection and assistance.
It is on the basis of this belief, reflected in international humanitarian law and based on the principle of humanity, that we offer our services as humanitarian agencies. We will act in accordance with the principles of humanity and impartiality, and with the other principles set out in the Code of Conduct for the

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Disaster Relief (1994).
The Humanitarian Charter affirms the fundamental importance of the following principles:

The right to life with dignity
This right is reflected in the legal measures concerning the right to life, to an adequate standard of living and to freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. We understand an individual's right to life to entail the right to have steps taken to preserve life where it is threatened, and a corresponding duty on others to take such steps. Implicit in this is the duty not to withhold or frustrate the provision of life-saving assistance. In addition, international humanitarian law makes specific provision for assistance to civilian populations during conflict, obliging states and other parties to agree to the provision of humanitarian and impartial assistance when the civilian population lacks essential supplies. 4 proportion of civilian casualties during the second half of the twentieth century. That internal conflict is often referred to as 'civil war' must not blind us to the need to distinguish between those actively engaged in hostilities, and civilians and others (including the sick, wounded and prisoners) who play no direct part. Non-combatants are protected under international humanitarian law and are entitled to immunity from attack. 5

The principle of non-refoulement
This is the principle that no refugee shall be sent (back) to a country in which his or her life or freedom would be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; or where there are substantial grounds for believing that s/he would be in danger of being subjected to torture. 6 2 Roles and Responsibilities 2. 1 We recognise that it is firstly through their own efforts that the basic needs of people affected by calamity or armed conflict are met, and we acknowledge the primary role and responsibility of the state to provide assistance when people's capacity to cope has been exceeded.

2.2
International law recognises that those affected are entitled to protection and assistance. It defines legal obligations on states or warring parties to provide such assistance or to allow it to be provided, as well as to prevent and refrain from behaviour that violates fundamental human rights. These rights and obligations are contained in the body of international human rights law; international humanitarian law and refugee law (see sources listed below).

2.3
As humanitarian agencies, we define our role in relation to these primary roles and responsibilities. Our role in providing humanitarian assistance reflects the reality that those with primary responsibility are not always able or willing to perform this role themselves. This is sometimes a matter of capacity. Sometimes it constitutes a wilful disregard of fundamental legal and ethical obligations, the result of which is much avoidable human suffering.

2.4
The frequent failure of warring parties to respect the humanitarian purpose of interventions has shown that the attempt to provide assistance in situations of conflict may potentially render civilians more vulnerable to attack, or may on occasion bring unintended advantage to one or more of the warring parties.
We are committed to minimizing any such adverse effects of our interventions in so far as this is consistent with the obligations outlined above. It is the obligation of warring parties to respect the humanitarian nature of such interventions.

2.5
In relation to the principles set out above and more generally, we recognise and support the protection and assistance mandates of the International Committee of the Red Cross and of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees under international law.

Minimum Standards
The Minimum Standards which follow are based on agencies' experience of providing humanitarian assistance. Though the achievement of the standards depends on a range of factors, many of which may be beyond our control, we commit ourselves to attempt consistently to achieve them and we expect to be held to account accordingly. We invite other humanitarian actors, including states themselves, to adopt these standards as accepted norms. By adhering to the standards set out in chapters 1-5 we commit ourselves to make every effort to ensure that people affected by disasters have access to at least the minimum requirements (water, sanitation, food, nutrition, shelter and health care) to satisfy their basic right to life with dignity. To this end we will continue to advocate that governments and other parties meet their obligations under international human rights law, international humanitarian law and refugee law.
We expect to be held accountable to this commitment and undertake to develop systems for accountability within our respective agencies, consortia and federations. We acknowledge that our fundamental accountability must be to those we seek to assist.

Sources
The following instruments inform this Charter:

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 1948.
Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989.

Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons 1960.
Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement 1998.

Reading 1.4. What is child rights programming? 7
Child Rights Programming (CRP) is a child-focused version of rights-based approaches to development. CRP applies rights-based approaches specifically to work to realise the rights of boys and girls under the age of 18. The reason for having a specific approach like this is that children have their own special needs and vulnerabilities. In other words, children are like adults in some respects but also different from them in other ways. This is why there is a special international convention on the human rights of children and why development organisations working with girls and boys need a rights-based approach that is adapted to the special situation of children.
The key components of CRP all draw upon the general principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), as well as other fundamental human rights principles. One useful way of thinking about CRP is to consider the definition of its three component words:  Child -every boy and girl under the age of eighteen years of age, a period of childhood accorded special consideration in human rights terms (Universal Declaration of Human Rights Art 26b), characterised as a period of evolving capabilities and of vulnerabilities relative to those of adults.
 Rights -defined as international human rights applicable to children, set out primarily in the CRC but also to be found in all other human rights conventions.
 Programming -management of a set of activities, including analysis, planning, implementation and monitoring, towards a defined goal or objective, involving good development practice.
The combination of these three definitions provides an overall working definition of CRP:

"Child rights programming means using the principles of child rights to plan, implement and monitor programmes with the overall goal of improving the position of children so that all boys and girls can fully enjoy their rights and can live in societies that acknowledge and respect children's rights."
Child Rights Programming brings together a range of ideas, concepts and experiences related to child rights, child development, emergency response and development work within one unifying framework. It is primarily based on the principles and standards of children's human rights but also draws heavily on good practice in many areas of work with children as well as lessons learnt in relief and development.

Key components in CRP
Some of the key components of CRP include: 1. Focus on children: a clear focus on children, their rights and their role as social actors. 2. Holistic view of children: considering all aspects of a child while making strategic choices and setting priorities. 3. Accountability: a strong emphasis on accountability for promoting, protecting and fulfilling children's rights across a range of duty-bearers from the primary duty bearer -the state (e.g. local and central government) to the private sector, the media, child-care professionals, and other individuals with direct contact with children. 4. Supporting duty bearers: consideration of the ways in which duty-bearers could be helped to meet their obligations through technical assistance, budget support and other forms of partnership. 5. Advocacy: the importance of advocacy, public education and awareness raising as programming tools in order to ensure that duty bearers are held accountable. 6. Participation: the promotion of children's effective participation in programming (and beyond), according to children's evolving capacities. 7. Non-discrimination: a commitment to the inclusion of the most marginalized children and to challenging discrimination on such grounds as gender, class, ethnicity, (dis)ability, etc.
8. The best interests of children: consideration (with children) of the impact on children of all programme choices. 9. Survival and development: a focus on both the immediate survival of children as well as a commitment to ensuring the development of their full potential. 10. Children as part of a community: an understanding of children's place in their families, communities and societies and the role that their parents and other carers have in defending their rights and guiding children's development. 11. Root causes and broad issues: a focus on the underlying causes as well as immediate violations. 12. Partnerships: building partnerships and alliances for the promotion, protection and fulfilment of children's rights. 13. Information, and knowledge. Facilitating access to and understanding of children's rights for children themselves, their communities and key duty bearers, including government.
Understanding the implications of the general principles of the UN CRC is a key step in beginning to apply the CRP approach. For example, all work carried out within the framework of CRP needs to be based on an assessment of children's best interests and the promotion of their survival and development. Similarly, all decisions about children must always consider their opinions and make efforts to avoid missing out often excluded or marginalized groups.

Understanding the evolving capacities of children
Rights-based approaches to programming are rooted in principles of participation, empowerment and inclusion. These are concepts that have developed in the adult world, and have been adapted by Save the Children in its Child Rights Programming approach. The difference between adults and children in respect of participation is not that adults are capable, and children are not. All children can express views on issues of concern to them. However, the extent to which they can exercise informed judgment and choice will necessarily vary. A child rights based approach to programming will therefore need to take appropriate account of children's evolving capacities when constructing opportunities for participation. Understanding of the evolving capacities of children encompasses two dimensions 9 :  recognition of and respect for the competencies which children have to make informed choices and decisions. Too often adults under-estimate children's capacities, or fail to appreciate the value of their perspectives because they are not expressed in ways which would be employed by adults. Furthermore, age is not necessarily a useful proxy for competence. Other factorscultural expectations, personal experiences, degree of adult support, social acceptance, the degree of agency experienced by the child and the child's own personality and strengths will all influence their capacities. Research with children consistently highlights the extent to which they have more confidence in their own abilities than have the adults with responsibility for them 10 . Many children also argue a need for less protection than the levels deemed necessary by parents 11 .
 recognition of the right to respect for children's 'unevolved capacities'. In other words, childhood is a period of entitlement to additional protections, in view of children's youth and vulnerability. Many of these protections are designed to prevent children being inappropriately exposed to situations likely to cause harm. It can, for example, be as harmful to make excessive or inappropriate expectations of children, as to deny them the right to take part in decisions they are capable of making 12 . However, it is essential to recognise the contribution that children, themselves, can make towards their own protection 13 . It is also worth bearing in mind that the vulnerability of children derives, in some part, not from their lack of capacity, but rather, from their lack of power and status with which to exercise their rights and challenge abuses.
One of the most fundamental challenges posed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child is the need to balance children's rights to adequate and appropriate protection with their right to participate in and take responsibility for the exercise of those decisions and actions they are competent to take for themselves. There is no simple formula for assessing when that competence arises, but following considerations can be brought to bear in making assessments:  There is growing evidence that children are capable of exercising agency and utilizing their own resources and strengths in developing strategies for their protection. Furthermore, active recognition of and support for children's engagement enhances their developmental capacities.
 Over-protection can serve to increase vulnerability by failing to equip children with the information and experience they need to make informed choices in their lives.
 Protective approaches that make children dependent on adult support leave children without resources when those adult protections are withdrawn. 15  The scale of many national crises is undermining traditional family and community networks that served to protect children's well-being and development. In these environments, there is an acute need to harness children's own potential strengths in order to maximise their opportunities for survival and development.
14 Boyden, J. and G. Mann, 'Children's risk, resilience and coping in extreme situation '

Session objectives:
At the end of this session you will be able to:  Describe the link between values and rights and how these are reflected in all aspects of the minimum standards.  Use the minimum standards to develop educational responses that reflect a rights-based approach.

Exercise 2.1: Brainstorm on Rights and Values
In your group, brainstorm about the values that are particularly important in the society in which you work and write your ideas on a flipchart.

Space for your notes Exercise 2.2: Foundations of INEE Minimum Standards: A Rights Based Approach
Read the scenario assigned to your group. Then, in your groups, discuss the scenario and answer the questions. One group member should be designated to write the proposed solutions and the standards and indicators you could use to implement these solutions on flipchart paper.

Scenario A: Involving Parents
In many countries, Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) are often considered to be ineffective. Very often parents are not interested in being members of the PTA as they see it as a situation where the teachers and principal use their authority over the parents to get them to do extra work. Parents have no say in running the school or in the philosophy of the school and are not usually asked their opinion on educational issues. As a result, PTAs generally consist of less than 5% of the parenting community.
Choose one of the following three problems to use for you analysis. Write the problem on your flipchart.

Possible problems
1. Parents think that the school is responsible for educating their children.

School system does not respond to what parents say.
3. Parents feel unwelcome in the classroom. Children are punished for things that their parents do; for example, if children are late to school because they must do chores at home, they are punished for being late.

Scenario B: Including Ex-Child Soldiers
Because of the conflict, there are a large number of out-of-age children (mostly boys) in primary school. Although there are special programmes for accelerated learning, they are too few and they operate only in certain areas. So the out-of-age students attend regular classes. Some of these are ex-child soldiers who are traumatized and brutalized. In an effort not to discriminate, these students are brought into the school.
But the presence of so many 'young men' means that families are keeping girls, and even some boys of the correct age group, away from school because the school environment is considered unsafe.
Choose one of the following three problems to use for you analysis. Write the problem on your flipchart.

Possible problems
1. Distrust of ex-child soldiers.
2. Educational policies do not meet needs of ex-child soldiers.
3. Teachers cannot meet the needs of all the different groups of children.

Scenario C: Classroom Management
In many countries, teachers use corporal punishment as a classroom management technique. This includes not only caning, but all sorts of physical punishments, many of which are, in fact, child abuse. A rights-based approach, which respects the dignity of both teachers and learners, cannot work if corporal punishment is used. Banning corporal punishment is frequently not considered practical because many people in the community are used to the system (and went through it themselves) and also because the teachers have very few alternatives.
Choose one of the following three problems to use for you analysis. Write the problem on your flipchart.

Possible problems
1. Societal attitude that corporal punishment in school is acceptable.

2.
Lack of enforcement of policy.
3. Teachers are not properly trained in alternative classroom management techniques and do not understand that corporal punishment is ineffective.

Scenario D: Using Educational Data
Collecting data on enrolment and attendance is very difficult in many post-conflict countries because of the conflict and breakdown of the education infrastructure. Many school administrators, who cannot collect accurate data, fill in the forms with 'approximate' figures. As a result, much of the data collected cannot be analysed effectively and are therefore a waste of time to collect. As you answer the questions below, think about the values that are inherent in the collection and analysis of data and the values that could be transmitted through appropriate responses to the data collected.
Choose one of the following three problems to use for you analysis. Write the problem on your flipchart.

Possible problems
1. Schooling is not valued for all segments of the population.

2.
School administrators do not have the time/resources to analyse educational data.
3. Teachers do not know why they are being asked for information and so do not value accurate data collection.

Session 3: Review of Standards and Indicators
Session objectives: At the end of this session you will:  Be more familiar with the standards and indicators available.  Be able to identify links between the five INEE Minimum Standards categories.  Be able to make links between the education sector and other relevant sectors (e.g. health, water and sanitation, site planning) when planning a response.

Exercise 3.1: Review of Standards and Indicators by Category
For your assigned category, review each standard and its accompanying set of indicators. Then suggest a specific strategy or activity for achieving more than one of the indicators for the standard. Do this for each standard in your assigned category.
Each member of the group should complete the table for your assigned category as you will need your completed table for an exercise later in the session.
Note that the table in the workbook lists only abbreviated versions of the indicators. Therefore, you should make sure to read the full indicators and guidance notes as you complete the table. The guidance notes may be especially helpful, if you are having trouble interpreting any of the indicators.
As you develop your strategies or activities, you should also consider whether the support of other sectors (such as water and sanitation, health or site management, for example) will be necessary. When such support is required, list it in Column D of the table.

Instructions:
In your groups, do the following in order to identify links among the INEE Minimum Standards categories.
1. The person who was originally in Group 1 (Access and Learning Environment) should describe one of their group's strategies and the indicators to which it is responding. 2. Then the representatives of Groups 2, 3 and 4 should state how this strategy affects their category.
This should take no more than 5 minutes for each category. 3. Write the identified links or impacts in column E of the above table. 4. Repeat this procedure with the each of the other categories (Groups 2, 3 and 4). 5. Your group should be prepared to share one example of how a strategy or activity suggested for one category has an impact on one or more of the other categories.

Session 4: Working with Communities and Education Authorities
Session objectives: At the end of this session you will:  Have a better understanding of communication strategies for effective participation and coordination.  Understand the complexity of issues involved in participation and coordination and be able to utilise the relevant standards, indicators and guidance notes to achieve better results.  Be able to utilise the relevant standards, indicators and guidance notes to achieve better results.

Exercise 4.1: Role plays Individual Instructions
 You will take part in either the community meeting or the meeting with the education authorities.  Read the scenario for your assigned meeting.  In addition, read the separate role guide that you will be given by the session facilitator. The role guide describes a particular point of view but you should also build on the guide according to their own experiences. During the meeting, you should argue the case of the role you are playing.  Do not share your handout with anybody else but introduce yourself saying who you are.  You have five minutes to review and develop your role and read the scenario for your meeting. Then you should meet with your assigned group to spend five minutes together preparing for your meeting (e.g. deciding how to organise yourselves, etc.)

Instructions for the meeting
 If you are not taking part in the meeting, your job will be to pay close attention to the meeting and to how well the meeting participants' worked together and listened to the various points of view and issues raised.  You will be expected to comment on the meeting after it is finished.

Scenario 1: Meeting with the education authorities
The education programme in the camp has been in operation for three years. The UN agencies and the NGO in charge of education programmes have requested a meeting with the national education authorities to discuss how effective the refugee education programme is and how better co-ordination can be developed. It has not been easy to discuss the education situation with the education ministry as they claim that the UN and the NGOs have taken charge. In addition, the national authorities do not have the resources to be able to help with refugee education. While the international human rights instruments and declarations are being upheld superficially, there are still many problems that need to be worked through. There are some children from minority language groups who are effectively excluded from school and there is growing resentment about the refugees from the local community.

Scenario 2: Community meeting
The UN agencies and the NGO in charge of education programmes have called this community meeting to see how effective the education programmes are and to listen to the views of the community. The education programme has been in operation for three years but there is no secondary education available. The records show that the primary school gross enrolment ratio (GER) is 80%. Because there are a large number of out-of-age youth in primary schools this means that the net enrolment ratio (NER), those children who are the correct age-for-grade, is much less. There are no exact figures, but it would seem that the NER is closer to 50%. Attendance is generally good although there is a dip in attendance just prior to the examination period. School attendance is worse on food distribution days. There is still a high drop out rate for girls at grades 4 and 5 but it is understood that with early marriage and domestic chores this is very difficult to counteract.

Individual reflection questions
Think about the role play you observed and answer the following two questions.

Look at the standards, indicators and guidance notes for Community Participation and Education
Policy and Coordination. Which ones are relevant for this type of meeting?
2. How would you use these standards, indicators and guidance notes to make this type of meeting more effective?

Sessions 5 & 6: Simulation: Emergency in Zamborra
Session objectives: At the end of this session you will:  Understand the need for thorough assessment and analysis of the assessment findings to develop appropriate and effective education programmes.  Understand that using the standards and indicators will prevent or minimise problems in the future.  Be able to analyse the situation so as to be able to formulate an effective response strategy.

Exercise 5.1: Assessing the educational needs of the Arcazian refugees in Zamborra
For the next session, you will take part in an assessment exercise. Read the background note below and the individual role guide that your session facilitator will give you. After the simulation, there will be a plenary session where key assessment findings will be shared. Be prepared!

Background Note: Educational Response for the Arcazian refugees in Zamborra
There is yet another cycle of conflict in the civil war in Arcazia, where the civilian population is being targeted (as opposed to just fighting between a militia and the government troops). Two hundred thousand refugees from Arcazia have fled to the neighbouring country of Zamborra. Zamborra is a poor but relatively stable country, although the Government fears that the neighbouring instability will affect the Zamborran society. The Government has bowed to international pressure and agreed to accept the refugees but it wants them kept in refugee camps and away from the major cities.
Refugee camps are in the process of being established less than 200 km from the border and 1,000 km from the capital of Zamborraville. It is a remote and rugged area with few roads, little infrastructure and an extremely poor local population. The local population consists of half a dozen villages scattered along the border area with a total population of 15,000.
The Arcazian refugees are predominantly from one ethnic group. The refugees speak a common tribal language but it is not a recognised national language either in Arcazia or Zamborra. Unfortunately, the national language (language of instruction in schools) is different in Arcazia and Zamborra.
Like most refugee situations, 70% of the refugees are women and children, with the majority of the population under age 25. From the registration records it seems that 33% of the population is between the ages of 5 -17. According to early reports, there are thousands of separated children and family tracing has yet to begin.
The majority of the refugees (65%) are illiterate, coming from rural and very traditional backgrounds. These families place priority on boys' education; girls do not generally attend school beyond grade 3 and early marriage is the norm. About 20% of the refugees are partially literate having completed a few years of primary school; however, there is a group of highly educated urban refugees (about 15%). Many of these are university graduates and have fled because of direct political persecution.
The war is on-going and it is not known how long the refugees will stay but most agencies believe that they will be there for at least a year.

Session objectives:
At the end of this session you will:  Be able to use the minimum standards to evaluate education programmes in a holistic manner.  Understand that using the INEE Minimum Standards will help to prevent or minimise problems in the future.  Be aware that without comprehensive application of the standards and indicators policy decisions can be destructive, or at least much less effective, than planned.  Understand that with periodic evaluation, programmes can be more relevant and appropriate even though they may have been in place for some time.

Exercise 8.1: Evaluating education programmes in Zamborra
The education programme in Zamborra has been going on for three years now. Therefore, during this exercise you will be evaluating some elements of the education programme that have been put into place.
Read the scenario that is assigned to your group and answer the questions that follow to generate your evaluation findings. Write these on a flipchart. Your group must also nominate a spokesperson who will give a brief 5-minute summary of your group's evaluation findings to the major donor who will be arriving in 30 minutes.

Evaluation group 1: Girls' Access to Education
The refugees have been in Zamborra for three years now. The education partners have invested considerable resources and effort in enrolling students in school (particularly girls); last year the gross enrolment rate for girls reached 75%. The NGOs have held a series of awareness discussions with parents in the communities to advocate for girls' enrolment and attendance. Traditionally, it has not been culturally acceptable for girls to be educated but, in spite of some resistance, according to the education statistics there has been an increase in enrolment of girls and even more impressive, more girls than ever before are enrolled in grade 4, the traditional drop-out grade.
Special homework clubs have been created for middle and upper primary girls to allow them the opportunity to study at school, as their study time at home is generally limited because of their chores. During the last vacation period of the school year, special girls-only intensive classes for upper primary girls were also established to help the girls prepare for their exams.
Teachers have been sensitised on gender based discrimination and the government ministries have waived any school fees for girls. In areas where girls have been particularly discriminated against historically, there are all-girl classes. The girls appear to be doing well (especially after the vacation classes) and more than fifty girls are preparing to sit the national examination at the end of primary school (an increase from ten girls just a year ago).
While the girls in upper primary are doing well, unfortunately other parts of the education programme and the community are not doing so well. There has been an increase in the drop out rate of older boys and worse, the enrolment rate of boys and younger girls is declining. There has also been a surprising upsurge in the level of harassment of girls -both in school and in the community as opposed to the more usual profile of women being harassed. As a result, parents are increasingly voicing their concerns about their daughters being unsafe when going to and from school. The number of teachers is also decreasing, although only slightly more than in previous years. This seems odd as the teachers cannot readily get other work. Within the community, the religious leaders are becoming increasingly vocal, claiming that the girls are becoming "too proud" and not behaving in a manner that befits women of their religion.

Evaluation group 2: Education for Youth
Because of a shortfall of funding, there is very little emphasis on secondary education. Secondary schooling exists but is extremely poorly resourced. In many ways this is not such a problem because most of the youth who would normally be in secondary school are only in mid-primary school.
In an attempt to minimise the number of out-of-age youth in primary classes (with the attendant potential for emotional and psycho-social harm) special intensive classes have been created for them. These classes have been successful and, as demand for the programme has been increasing, it appears that there are many more out-of-age youth than was first anticipated. Many of the students are doing well and will soon be ready for secondary education, which will put increased pressure on the very weak secondary system. The NGO supporting education has been lobbying hard to increase the proportion of funding spent on secondary education but so far has not been able to secure any additional funding.
Many of the students that are now enrolling in the programme are smaller in stature than the initial group and are less socially mature. Their rate of learning is also slowing down. To rectify this trend, there has been increased attention paid to the teachers and the teaching methodologies that are used.
A number of adolescents who are enrolled in primary school are dropping out. There does not seem to be any discernable reason why this is happening. The students who dropped out seemed to have been doing as well as the others. Anecdotal feedback from teachers and community members who have talked to these students indicates that they were just not interested in the work. It does not seem as though they are unwilling to learn, however, as many are now attending various community based learning programmes, such as short courses on environmental awareness, peace education groups etc. Remarkably, they do not leave these special classes in order to work.
There are a few NGOs who have been implementing vocational training in the camp. The courses offered include tie-dyeing, masonry, carpentry, and agriculture. The courses are generally full but enrolment is limited to approximately 100 students in total.

Evaluation group 3: Teachers
There were very few trained teachers in the population that fled from Arcazia. Teachers were recruited from the community and initially undertook a five-day training programme. There has been considerable international pressure to have gender equity among teachers. Therefore, people (particularly women) who had not completed primary school have been recruited as teachers. This has meant that the teacher training programme has concentrated on content areas.
The NGO in charge of education has liaised with the home country government to obtain a limited number of textbooks. Students are required to share these and cannot take them for home study as they are required for multiple classes. Because the language of instruction is an international one, many of the teachers have difficulty teaching in it and few of the students understand it well enough to learn.
The UN and the NGO in charge of education have stated that an interactive, participatory methodology should be used and that corporal punishment should not be used. The schools are overcrowded and the classrooms are cramped (sometimes there are as many as 100 children in a classroom) so that it is not possible to teach in a participatory way. The teachers often spend most of their time maintaining discipline. While caning of students has been banned, other forms of corporal punishment are freely used, including farming teachers' land and kneeling in the school yard on stones with arms outstretched. Many people in the community claim that they send their children to school for them to be disciplined. They are not happy with the corporal punishment ban.
The community has not traditionally been involved in schools and the teachers do not know how to cope with community members who feel that they know what is best for the students. Recently there have been a number of confrontations between teachers and parents.
Teachers' incentives are low, so many move on to more appealing jobs once they have been trained and have gained some experience. Because of the high turnover rate, the NGO responsible for teacher training have reduced training to a one-day orientation course.
Teachers develop their own tests and assess students on a regular basis (that is, weekly, monthly and at the end of each term). As a result, teachers 'teach to the test' to ensure that students achieve in their tests. The more formal end-of-year tests are standardised across all the schools and developed by the NGOs together with education authorities. The success rate in these tests is very low in comparison with the in-school tests. A very small number of students sat the national examination, which was very difficult to organise; the pass rate was 24%.

Reading 9.1: Sphere Project Disaster Preparedness Background Note 16
What is a disaster?
There are many different definitions of disaster used by practitioners worldwide. Examples include the following.

UNDMTP (United Nations Disaster Management Training Programme)
"A disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a society, causing widespread human, material, or environmental losses which exceed the ability of affected society to cope using only its own resources. Disasters are often classified according to their speed of onset (sudden or slow), or according to their cause (natural or human-made)." The hazard is not the disaster. For example we can have a drought without it being a disaster. Furthermore, it is becoming more and more difficult to label a hazard as purely "natural". For example, deforestation and the "greenhouse effect" may be accelerating changes in weather patterns that will eventually manifest as hazards of "natural" origin.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
What is human vulnerability?
Human vulnerability is the extent to which an individual, community, sub-group, structure, service or geographical area is likely to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of a particular disaster hazard.
There are a number of factors that determine vulnerability, including: It is repeatedly shown that while natural events may be disastrous for all races and all social and economic classes, people living in poverty suffer most. They are generally:  the most vulnerable  the least well equipped  the least protected  the most exposed to potential hazards Often, they live in highly vulnerable conditions and places, for example, on the banks of rivers, on land-fills or on precarious mountain sides. Their physical well-being may already be compromised before any event occurs. Their resources, including health, may be so limited that an event, which would have little or no impact on more wealthy populations, can be catastrophic for people living in poverty.
Most disasters are unsolved development problems.
What is risk?
Risk is generally defined as the expected impact caused by a particular phenomenon. It combines:  the likelihood or probability of a disaster happening  the negative effects that result if the disaster happens The potential impact of an event (or hazard) on human beings is a function of how exposed, or vulnerable, people are to the effects of that hazard, and their capacity to deal with the situation.
Therefore it is not enough to focus on hazard or vulnerability alone when defining disasters. Instead, to determine risk, you need to take into account the combination of:  the hazard or the event occurring  the vulnerability of those potentially affected by it.
Risk elimination, or at least reduction, is a main concern of disaster preparedness. While the hazard may not be possible to predict and prevent, human vulnerability can be predicted and sometimes prepared for. Humanitarian assistance usually presents an important opportunity for risk reduction initiatives.

How factors determine risk
Risk increases according to:  the potential impact of the hazard  how vulnerable the affected populations are.
Risk decreases if the affected populations have greater capacity to cope. However, disaster is a relative term, and what for some may seem a "small" and controllable situation, may not be perceived in the same way for others. It all depends on how able the local population is to deal with the situation. The criterion is not magnitude of death and destruction, but the capacity to cope with a situation.
What is disaster preparedness?
The Sphere Project takes the view that disaster preparedness is the result of a wide range of activities and resources that practitioners and communities carry out in the hope of:  preventing and mitigating disasters  better responding to disasters if they occur.

Definition proposed by the UNDMTP "Disaster Preparedness Module":
"Disaster preparedness minimises the adverse effects of a hazard through effective precautionary actions, rehabilitation and recovery to ensure the timely, appropriate and effective organisation and delivery of relief and assistance following a disaster."

Definition from "Reducing Risk" (Von Kotze and Holloway 1996, IFRC)
"Measures to ensure the readiness and ability of a society to forecast and take precautionary measures in advance of an imminent threat, and to respond to and cope with the effects of a disaster by organising and facilitating timely and effective rescue, relief and appropriate post-disaster assistance."

Definition from UNICEF
"Disaster preparedness is a planning process, not merely the development of a fixed plan. To be prepared is to be in a constant state of readiness". The Sphere handbook emphasises and enables participation, which is a valuable addition to this definition.
Example disaster preparedness activities  Forecasting and taking precautionary measures before an imminent threat when advance warnings are possible.  Developing and regularly testing warning systems, linked to forecasting systems.  Making plans for evacuation or other measures to be taken during a disaster alert period to minimise potential loss of life and physical damage.  Educating and training officials and the population at risk.  Training intervention teams.  Establishing policies, standards, organisational arrangements and operational plans to be applied following a disaster.
What are prevention and mitigation?
Prevention requires the elimination of risk, while mitigation is the reduction of risk. Appropriate disaster prevention and mitigation "builds on people's strengths and tackles the causes of vulnerability". Although technology-based solutions are crucial in eliminating or reducing risk, for example, micro-zoning in seismic areas, early warning sensor systems for volcanoes, human-based solutions are just as important. Human Capacity-Vulnerabilities Analysis or CVA is a central concept in planning disaster prevention and mitigation activities.
The distinction between mitigation and prevention might be blurred according to one's perception of both terms. For this module, mitigation is seen as a more short term process or set of activities focused on reducing, rather than eliminating, the likelihood of the potential impact of a hazard. Emergency or response preparedness is closely linked to mitigation, in that it puts in place effective capacities to deal with an actual disaster rapidly, efficiently and effectively.
Prevention requires longer term action and investment (financial, material and societal). Prevention aims to eliminate both the hazard (for example, actions to prevent flooding through the construction of dykes) and the vulnerability (for example, actions to help ensure that people are not vulnerable to floods, such as relocating them to safe and dignified housing away from the flood hazard areas). Prevention requires appropriate and equitable human-development, achieved through fundamental physical, attitudinal, cultural and socio-political change in society.
Appropriate prevention and mitigation activities are preceded by:  hazards identification and mapping  risk analysis  Capacities and Vulnerabilities Assessments.
If the principles embedded in the Humanitarian Charter are to be observed, these activities need to be conducted in ways that actively involve the people who are at risk and may be affected by disasters.
Mitigation: How can risks be reduced?
Mitigation involves a two-pronged approach:  hazard reduction  vulnerability reduction Practical measures, such as constructing flood protection, improving drainage, reinforcing hillsides and eliminating the foci for disease helps to reduce the hazard. Activities such as relocation from river banks, improved health and nutrition, vaccination programmes may help reduce vulnerability. Any activity that alerts people to their own risks is in itself a capacity building initiative that reduces vulnerability.
Example of disaster mitigation activities  The aim is to reduce the likelihood or impact of future disasters by adopting practices, such as the following:  Participatory risk and hazard analysis.  Technology-based solutions such as seismic and volcanic sensor systems for early warning and prediction.  Geological and topographical mapping and analysis to detect potential hazards for example, of mud-slides.  Capacity-building in communities, for example public education on nutrition.  Concrete measures to reduce vulnerability such as relocation from highly vulnerable areas to safe and dignified housing, under fully agreed conditions.  Construction of hazard resistant housing, for example hurricane-reinforced houses, or earthquake-reinforced buildings.

Emergency or response preparedness
Emergency preparedness is a readiness to deal with the consequences of a risk becoming an actual disaster. Some organisations refer to emergency or response preparedness as "disaster preparedness".
The Sphere Project makes the following distinction: Emergency preparedness Disaster preparedness All actions taken in order for people and organisations to be ready to react and respond to a disaster situation.
Encompasses actions not only related to readiness to react, but also a readiness to:  prevent  reduce  mitigate effects. It is difficult to quantify the number of people affected by armed conflicts throughout the world but the number killed is surely many times more than the number killed by drought and other natural disasters. As an indication, in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Project Ploughshares reports that since the conflict started in 1990, "An estimated 350,000 people have been killed as a direct consequence of violence. In total, an estimated 4 million people have died as a result of the conflict, the vast majority from malnutrition and disease." Similarly, in Uganda it is estimated that "possibly as many as 500,000, have been killed in the course of the conflict" (since 1987).

Exercise 9.1: Preparing for a disaster
For the hazard assigned to your group, complete the following: 1. What are the typical effects of this hazard on the education system? 2. Brainstorm all the possible disaster preparedness activities related to education that you can think of. (This can include activities related to prevention, mitigation and/or emergency preparedness.) 3. Which of the minimum standards and indicators are relevant to these activities?

Session 10: Education Policy and Coordination in Situations of Early Reconstruction
Session objectives: At the end of this session you will:  Realise that policy decisions are made at all levels.  Understand that policy and co-ordination indicators need to be part of planning, if reconstruction is to be a smooth transition.  Understand that the group of stakeholders may be broader in early reconstruction than in other stages of an emergency.  Have a better understanding of the two-way communication necessary for effective participation and co-ordination.  Understand the complexity of issues and be able to utilise the relevant standards, indicators and guidance notes to address them.

Exercise 10.1: Issues in education policy and coordination
Read the case study "Peace at last!" and then, as a group, answer the questions that follow. As you read, consider both the problem areas as well as the indicators that could have prevented these problems.

Peace at last!
Peace accords have been signed after eight years of cyclic conflict in Arcazia which displaced more than 500,000 people -more than 200,000 sought refuge in the neighbouring country of Zamborra while at least 300,000 people were internally displaced within the country. The citizens of Arcazia are looking forward to a period of reconstruction, but the interim government has very few resources and the ministries involved in education, both formal and non-formal, are poorly resourced in both human and monetary terms. There is a large UN presence in the country as well as many international NGOs. In addition new un-resourced local NGOs are proliferating.
There are three distinct ethnic/tribal groups in Arcazia. The majority tribal group is in charge of the government and tends to dominate the professions and businesses. The returning refugees and the majority of the IDPs belong primarily to one of the minority groups from the rural areas. Historically, investments in education in these parts of the country have been extremely minimal. There are very few schools and many of the schools that existed were destroyed during the conflict. Some believe that the historical inequalities in access to education contributed to the conflict in the country. The government has indicated that it supports the goal of Education for All and that it wants to provide education in all parts of the country but it is not yet clear how much they will invest in the historically under-served areas of the country. The support of the international community, including NGOs, will be necessary to improve access to education during the early phases of the country's reconstruction.
The refugees have started returning to the country and are being settled primarily in the rural areas where the need for schools and teachers is great. In addition, the government is closing IDP camps throughout the country and encouraging IDPs to return to their home villages in the rural areas. Fortunately, these movements will primarily take place during the long school break, but both the refugees and the IDPs are reluctant to return to the rural areas as they are concerned about the lack of educational opportunities for their children.
During the eight years of the conflict, the NGOs that were implementing education for the refugees in Zamborra trained nearly 2,000 teachers. While each NGO made great efforts to ensure that its teacher training approximated the C grade level (the most basic level) approved in Arcazia, there was no effort to develop this training jointly, and no effort to include the Government of Arcazia, as there was no viable government that was accessible. After a mid-term evaluation, the NGOs also made great efforts to improve their teacher training by focusing on up-to-date pedagogy, inter-active methodologies and classroom management techniques as well as extra content related to the perceived needs of the community.
Likewise, during the conflict, there were a few NGOs supporting education for IDPs within Arcazia. These efforts were minimal as the government was reluctant to allow the NGOs to work within the country and only allowed them to work in the major IDP camps near the capital. Still, these NGOs managed to train nearly 500 teachers (including nearly 200 women) in both pedagogy and content.
The NGOs are very aware that the education system in Arcazia has been fragmented and that there are very few trained teachers available in the rural areas so they are confident that the teachers they have trainedboth refugee and IDP -will be able to obtain employment from the Ministry of Education. Many of the teachers, however, are waiting to return as the government salaries are very low, teachers are not regularly paid and there is no guarantee that they will be placed on the government payroll.
At a recent meeting, the issue of teacher employment was raised. The Ministry claims that, as the NGO-sponsored teachers were not trained by the proper authorities, they cannot be employed. In addition, the government is facing constraints placed on it by the international community. The government of Arcazia has 24,000 qualified teachers on its payroll and is not allowed to employ more than 25,000 teachers if they are to be in compliance with the terms of their development loans. There is some concern that the official government payroll includes "ghost" teachers and therefore needs to be reviewed, especially since the schools are very overcrowded in many parts of the country.
The other concern that the Ministry has, relates to the teaching methodology that the NGO-sponsored teachers are using. It is dramatically different from that taught in the Arcazian teacher training institutions. In addition, the government, in an effort to promote unity, is demanding that all schools use the (outdated) national curricula and feels that the new methodology and subjects implemented by the NGOs are too time consuming to allow teachers to meet the demands of the curricula. There is also some resentment that the NGOs incorporated new subjects into their schools without consulting the government.
There is no easy solution to these problems as the governments and the agencies have quite different agendas. These issues are part of on-going discussions with the Ministry of Education and the government in general.

Exercise 10.2: The debates
Develop your arguments "for or against" the statement that the facilitator assigns to your group for your given debate topic. While developing your arguments, try to predict the arguments the other side will use so that you can refute them with a point of your own during the debate. You may also wish to consider some of the coordination strategies and standards and indicators to minimise problems that you suggested when answering questions 3 and 4 from the previous exercise.

Debate Topic 1
In a situation like that described in the 'Peace at Last!' scenario, the use of the minimum standards and indicators could have prevented many of the problems and potential problems outlined. As they were not utilised appropriately and in a timely manner, they are not applicable.

Debate Topic 2
In a situation like that described in the 'Peace at Last!' scenario, it seems that the teachers trained by the NGOs will not be credited for the work and training they have undertaken. The ministry is not willing to accept the teachers. Because the minimum standards and indicators were not taken into account during the crisis, they are not applicable. At the end of this session you will:

Space for your notes
 Understand the inter-relationship of the minimum standards and indicators  Be able to present an overview of the INEE Minimum Standards and their uses in an emergency situation.

Exercise 11.1: Executive briefings
In your group develop a presentation for your senior policy makers on the INEE Minimum Standards and their uses in an emergency situation. Your presentation should be 7-10 minutes. Education in emergencies is a relatively new area and one that is not universally endorsed by agencies and organisations working in emergencies. To help education genuinely become one of the pillars of emergency response the minimum standards were developed. They have been designed as a tool to enhance accountability and quality so that we can be more effective educators even in very difficult circumstances.

Space for your notes
The development process of the minimum standards created local and regional networks that, while not necessarily part of the objectives of the minimum standards, have nevertheless supported the process of implementation. Through this training workshop you have been given the opportunity to understand the breadth and depth of the standards and their accompanying indicators and guidance notes. With this knowledge and the skills enhanced through this training process, it is hoped that you can further support the implementation process.

Supplementary Training Activities: Implementing and Monitoring Education Programmes in Emergencies and Chronic Crises
Session objectives: At the end of this session you will:  Understand and be able to apply the most relevant standards and indicators according to a particular context.
 Understand the need for multiple indicators and standards in the context of implementing a project.
 Understand how the indicators can be meaningfully applied to monitoring activities.
 Be able to demonstrate how working towards the minimum standards will create a more effective programme.

Using the standards during implementation
For this exercise, each group will be assigned a scenario. Read your assigned scenario and then, in your groups, discuss the questions that follow. Use the table as a guide to structure your answers.

Scenario 1: Natural Disaster in Xandia
Xandia is a stable but very poor country, where forestry has been the main industry for 20 years. The accessible forest is diminishing so that the timber cutters are increasingly moving into the high areas of the country. After a season of heavy rain, there is inevitably a series of major mudslides. These have effectively destroyed more than fifty villages, and resulted in a high death toll and a population that is now internally displaced.
While the government has tried to keep village groups together, this has not always been possible, as these people have been assigned to other less seriously affected villages, which are scattered along the foot of the mountains (about 800 kilometres). The village schools cannot cope with the influx, the displaced population is suffering both grief and trauma and they are often not welcomed into the host villages. The government has decided to build some temporary schools but these are insufficient and inadequate. There is increasing resentment among the displaced people that, in addition to suffering the loss of everything they had, their children are also suffering because the education provided is insufficient.
One of the agencies that has come to help in this crisis is planning to help rebuild schools and provide textbooks and other education materials. They have asked for your advice about how to use the minimum standards to implement and monitor their programme activities more effectively.

Scenario 2: Non-formal education for refugees
A large refugee camp has been in operation for more than ten years. It has a relatively stable population but with four main ethnic (and language) groups of approximately equal size. However there is about a 10% turnover of refugees of people repatriating spontaneously and a continuous small influx (about 100 families per month). Because of the difficulties of establishing different education programmes for the different ethnic and language groups, UNHCR and the implementing NGO decided, when the camp was first established, to utilise the host country curriculum for all children in the camp. Non-formal education (out-of-school youth, adult literacy classes and peace education and HIV/AIDS community education) have been initiated but tend to be in specific language groups which means that the ethnic groups do not work together.
The agency that has been implementing non-formal education programmes in the camp has asked for your advice about how to use the minimum standards and indicators to implement and monitor their programme activities more effectively.
Which standards and associated indicators do you recommend that the agency prioritise during the next planning cycle? List them in the table below.

Category Standard Indicators
Review the standards that you did not prioritize. Are there any indicators from those standards that the agency should keep in mind or try to apply? List those in the table below.

Category Standard Indicators
Review the standards that you did not prioritize. Are there any indicators from those standards that the agency should keep in mind or try to apply? List those in the table below.

Category Standard Indicators
Participant Evaluation Form: INEE Minimum Standards Training

Understanding and Using the Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies
Dates Please be open and honest in your evaluation.
Check ( ) the most appropriate box.
Please rate the following categories on a scale of 1 -4, where 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree, 4 = strongly agree. The venue and accommodation were appropriate.
What parts of the workshop were most useful for you?
What improvements/changes would you suggest for similar workshops?
How will you use the Minimum Standards in your work?
If you are a trainer: What are your plans for future Minimum Standards trainings? What support is needed to move these plans forward?