Education in Emergency (EiE)

Globally, in mid-2022 a record 306 million people needed humanitarian assistance and protection (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 2022). The increasingly protracted nature of crises, coupled with worsening security and access to the affected people (ACAPS, 2021), have necessitated new approaches – to respond to immediate needs in complex environments and to ensure that responses ultimately help reduce humanitarian needs over the medium to long term (OCHA, 2017). These approaches include rapid response mechanisms (RRMs), a ‘programmatic and operational approach to respond to the acute needs of vulnerable populations’ (REACH, Global Education Cluster (GEC), and the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), 2020). Such mechanisms are typically mobilized to respond to sudden-onset emergencies or deteriorating conditions in ongoing crises, particularly in hard-to-reach areas, and aim to provide immediate, life-saving assistance.

 

Against this backdrop, IIEP-UNESCO has analysed how and when MoEs may be more systematically engaged in preparedness planning and the initial stages of humanitarian interventions, to improve the resilience of education systems as well as the relevance, effectiveness, scalability, and sustainability of rapid education in emergencies (EiE) responses without compromising the ability to address the immediate needs of affected populations. This work is part of a wider ECHO-funded project on ‘Strengthening rapid education responses in emergencies’, led by the GEC, to improve access to safe and quality education for children and young people in the early phases of emergencies.

 

For more information on :

Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response.  See Policy brief

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000383722

 

All emergencies threaten the right to education, testing the resilience and preparedness of education systems.

 

In the same context, the Avicenna Virtual Campus Network carried out an Emergency Education project in the North West and South West (NOSO) Region of Cameroon in July 2020.

Main results / status of project activities:

Non-formal Education (NFE):

The NFE learning platform has proven to be very useful for the 293 communities in the crisis-affected areas, providing distance learning in NFE, psychosocial support and broadcast messages.
- The platform is operational with 75,945 registered learners;
- 17554 use the learning materials via the offline Avicenna virtual classroom system
- 7233 use the online platform https://unesco-ecw.avcn.fr/.
- 11 Avicenna virtual classroom units have been created (including a nano-server, a nano-projector, a speaker and a solar charged battery).
- 300 tablets will be used offline via the mobile application and SD cards (individual use)

 

 

 

CAMEROUN  (Education d’urgence (ECW-EiE)  Classe Mobile UNESCO)-2019-2020

While implementing the Global UNESCO Avicenna Virtual Campus model, UNESCO is producing pre-recorded lessons and online/offline e-learning materials based on essential skills, specifically targeting out-of-school children in the Northwest and Southwest regions.

To ensure that the learning materials are culturally, socially, and linguistically relevant and appropriate to the context of the Northwest and Southwest regions, UNESCO has applied universal competency standards to define learner profiles and needs, as well as the proficiency of skills developed in each area.

The content of the learning materials covers primary school levels 1, 2, and 3 in mathematics, English language, science and technology, and life skills, as well as secondary school level 1 in mathematics, English language, physics, chemistry, biology, and life skills.

 

The learning materials design and production process is led by renowned academics in the fields of pedagogy and information, communication, and technology from UNESCO's Avicenna Virtual Campus Network (AVCN).

To facilitate the distribution of these learning materials to communities and learning spaces, UNESCO will train facilitators with pedagogical training on how to use them and support out-of-school children in the learning process.

The production and distribution of additional learning materials in mother tongues will be launched to further stimulate and facilitate access to basic education, particularly for primary school children affected by conflict.

 

https://www.unesco.org/fr/emergencies/education/need-know