Special Investigative Report On The Level Of Education In IDPs Camp
By Daniel Ishaya
Kanempress
23rd May 2023
INTRODUCTION
The legal responsibility for provision of education to IDPs lies with the national government. In the absence of provision by the state, IDP communities often set up their own schools.
International support for education for IDPs is generally treated as a short-term humanitarian response; however, many IDPs live in protracted displacement. Education tends to be a high priority for IDPs themselves, but has tended to be a low priority for humanitarian actors.
The education cluster plays a central role in coordinating support for IDP education. It can provide an effective platform for partnership with the international community and national governments.
ACCESS TO EDUCATION FOR IDPs
A substantial proportion of IDP children are not enrolled in school, although the exact numbers are unknown. Access to education for IDPs is highly context-dependent.
IDPs face numerous barriers to education, especially girls and women. Many of the barriers are similar to those faced by other conflict and crisis-affected populations, but IDPs are more vulnerable due to the loss of livelihood, home, and possessions. School fees are one of the most significant barriers for IDPs. Other barriers particular to IDPs include: lack of education providers within or near camps and other IDP settlements, loss of documentation, inability to meet residency requirements for school enrolment.
In the first instance, UNICEF and other actors often provide Child Friendly Spaces. However, IDP children and families have voiced that they prefer formal education over structured play and non-formal education.
UNICEF uses “school in a box” kits that contain basic teaching and learning materials. It keeps a stockpile which can be rapidly deployed in emergencies. In prolonged displacement, locally procured kits provide a more culturally appropriate and value-for-money approach.
There are often very few opportunities for IDPs to continue studying post-primary. Education programming for “youth” (generally 15 years and older) in IDP situations often focuses on providing technical and vocational skills.
QUALITY OF EDUCATION AND LEARNING OUTCOMES IN IDP CAMP
In many cases the quality of education available to IDPs is far below the INEE’s Minimum Standards for Education.
There are very few studies on the learning outcomes of IDPs. A study in Sri Lanka found that there was a significant learning achievement deficit (1.5 to 3 years) associated with displacement. Evaluations of the Norwegian Refugee Council’s alternative education programmes for IDPs indicate that completion rates and learning outcomes for children in these programmes were similar to or better than those of children in mainstream schools.
Teachers in schools serving IDPs are often given incentives rather than a salary. International agencies are reluctant to support salaries due to concerns over sustainability and funding. But incentives often fail to attract qualified teachers. As a result, organisations often have to seek new potential teachers and provide basic training. Governments rarely agree to recognise these unqualified teachers, hence teachers in IDP camps can remain reliant on NGO incentives.
Many NGOs have developed their own teacher training courses. The most effective ones tend to place a heavy emphasis on classroom-based support, classroom observations, regular supervision, and ongoing workshops.
Refugees who qualify as teachers under a host country system may find that their government does not recognise their qualifications on their return. Regional certification of teachers can help to address this issue.
SPECIFIC CHALLENGES TO IDP EDUCATION
National capacity to address IDP education needs to be strengthened. This should cover inclusion of IDPs in education sector plans, Educational Management Information Systems and budgets, and contingency planning to reduce the disruption of education in the event of unforeseen future displacement crises.
Improved national-level planning and international support is needed to improve teacher recruitment and compensation in IDP situations, including strategies to retain qualified teachers.
Governments’ legal responsibility to protect IDPs’ right to education needs to be strengthened through the development of legal frameworks at global, regional, and national levels.
Since mainstreaming of refugees into national education systems has become a preferred option, there is an urgent need for relevant and meaningful curriculum and assessment systems and a better understanding of how to meet specific learning needs, including those to do with language of instruction and assessment, disabilities, gender, and ethnicity.
The quality of UNRWA schools relative to other schools in the region has been attributed in part to UNRWA’s teacher training programmes and ongoing support mechanisms, but standards are falling. There is a need to determine how to maintain standards and to transfer lessons learned to other protracted refugee situations.
Provision of post-primary education and training opportunities for adolescents and youth remains a major gap, requiring increased support from national and international actors, and exploration of innovative means of providing cost-effective access to education for this group.
Given the protracted nature of forced displacement, the international donor community needs to develop medium- to long-term flexible funding and implementation mechanisms for education for refugees and IDPs. Progress has been made through the Global Partnership for Education, and it is hoped that the new education in emergencies platform will address this gap.
CONCLUSION
Of the more than 27 million children estimated to lack access to education in emergency situations, substantial numbers are internally displaced.1 For these children not only is their educational development denied but they are deprived of other important benefits as well. Going to school is known to provide a degree of stability and normalcy in the traumatized lives of internally displaced children, and can be a critical source of psychosocial support. It can help to reduce children’s exposure to threats including sexual exploitation, physical attack and military recruitment
