Strengthening Ministry of

Education Engagement and

Leadership in Rapid Education
in Emergency Response
Policy brief
Acknowledgements

With the generous contribution from, and in partnership with, the European
Commission’s Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian
Aid Operations (DG ECHO), the Global Education Cluster together with UNICEF,
Save the Children, UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP),
REACH, NORCAP, and Translators without Borders have worked to address
barriers preventing girls and boys living in situations of humanitarian crisis
from realizing their right to receive quality education. Specifically, the partners
developed evidence, tools, and a training session to strengthen rapid education
responses, including through Rapid Response Mechanisms, to ensure children’s
life-saving and life-sustaining education needs are addressed in the first phase
of humanitarian response.

This policy brief was developed by IIEP-UNESCO.

For more information:

[email protected]
www.iiep.unesco.org

© UNESCO, UNICEF, 2022

The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not
necessarily represent those of UNESCO, IIEP, or UNICEF. The designations employed and
the presentation of material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the
part of UNESCO, IIEP, or UNICEF concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city,
or area, or its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries.

This publication is part of a series of case studies on Madagascar and South Sudan and
practical guidance documents on these two countries.

This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO
(CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the
content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO
Open Access Repository (https://www.unesco.org/open-access/termsuse-ccbysa-en).
The present licence applies exclusively to the text content of the publication.

How to cite this document: IIEP-UNESCO, UNICEF. 2022. Policy Brief: Strengthening
Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response.
Paris: IIEP-UNESCO and UNICEF.

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union.

Its contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
views of the European Union.

Cover photos:
© UNICEF/UN0673492/Andriananten
© UNICEF/UN0594302/Naftalin
Graphic Design:
John McGill
Contents

Abbreviations 4

1 Background and rationale 5

2 How to strengthen joint MoE and humanitarian

partner preparedness 7
2.1 Joint preparedness planning 7
2.2 Preparing for rapid needs assessments 8
2.3 Planning for implementation 9
2.4 Coordination and communication 11
2.5 Resource allocation 12

3 How to strengthen MoEs’ role during rapid responses 13

3.1 Access to hard-to-reach crisis-affected areas 13
3.2 Rapid needs assessments and linkages with
longer-term data systems 13
3.3 Rapid response implementation and alignment
with education policy frameworks 14
3.4 Coordination 16
3.5 Resource mobilization 17

4 Fostering an enabling environment for effective

MoE engagement and leadership 18
4.1 Policy and planning: adoption of a crisis-sensitive
planning approach 18
4.2 Improved data capacities 20
4.3 Enhanced coordination and communication 21
4.4 Strengthened financing and budget implementation 22

References 23

Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief 3
 Abbreviations

CFSS Child-Friendly Safe Space

DRR Disaster Risk Reduction

ECHO Directorate-General for European Civil Protection

and Humanitarian Aid Operations

EiE Education in Emergencies

EMIS Education Management Information System

GEC Global Education Cluster

HCT Humanitarian Country Team

ICT Information and Communication Technology

LEG Local Education Group

MEAL Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning

MHPSS Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

MoE Ministry of Education

PTA Parent-Teacher Association

OCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

RNA Rapid Needs Assessments

RRM Rapid Response Mechanism

SEL Social and Emotional Learning

SMC School Management Committee

TLM Teaching/Learning Material

TLS Temporary Learning Space

4 Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief
1 Background and rationale

© UNICEF/UN0673521/Andriananten
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.

The RRM modality takes different shapes in different contexts, but is often
multi-sectoral, and draws on the strengths of different partners to access
vulnerable and hard-to-reach areas, assess needs, and provide an initial
response that can be followed up by humanitarian and development partners
in different sectors. While several RRMs have provided rapid responses to address
education needs (REACH, GEC 2020), modalities for the consistent inclusion
of education in RRMs and/or the development of RRMs within the education
sector are still being developed.

A widely recognized challenge inherent in the nature of RRMs is linking initial

responses to longer-term solutions and programming within a strengthened
humanitarian-development nexus approach. While acknowledging that in
many sudden-onset emergencies the capacity of ministries of education (MoEs)
is limited, and often has to be complemented by humanitarian intervention,
enhanced MoE engagement and leadership are needed, notably in preparedness
and contingency planning and in providing for the sustainability of the response.

Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief 5
 1
Background and rationale

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.

This policy brief draws on country consultations, focus group discussions

with education stakeholders, and key documents integrated into the GEC’s
RRM toolkit, including the University of Sussex Synthesis Report ‘Strengthening
Rapid Education Responses in Acute Emergencies’, to provide a set of practical
recommendations to enhance education authorities’ engagement and leadership
in RRM and rapid EiE response at national, subnational, and local levels. More
specifically, the recommendations outline how to

i enhance joint coordinated preparedness efforts between the MoE and

humanitarian partners as a precondition for effective rapid EiE responses;

ii strengthen the role of MoEs during EiE responses; and

iii foster an enabling environment for effective MoE engagement and

leadership in preventing or mitigating, preparing for, and responding
to sudden-onset emergencies.

The targeted audience are MoEs at national and subnational levels, humanitarian
partners, and coordination entities in which MoEs may play a leading or co-leading
coordination role, depending on context. The recommendations are applicable
to MoEs when they are not party to conflict, and in situations where education
authorities are looking for opportunities to enhance capacities to engage in
rapid EiE responses. Key recommendations for humanitarian actors put forward
ways in which they can more effectively engage the MoE in preparedness planning
and throughout the duration of a rapid response to an emergency.

The key actions proposed throughout the phases and areas discussed below
draw on the findings of two country case studies in Madagascar and South
Sudan on MoE engagement in emergency situations, and provide evidence-
and experience-based considerations rather than prescriptions for action
or normative propositions. Given the importance of local dynamics and
considerations in humanitarian responses, these recommendations should
be contextualized at national, subnational, and local levels to address specific
challenges limiting the engagement of MoEs.

6 Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief
2 How to strengthen joint MoE and
humanitarian partner preparedness

For MoEs to play a more effective role in the planning and implementation
of rapid EiE responses, it is critical that education authorities at all levels
be better prepared to respond to emergencies that affect the education sector.
This section outlines entry points to strengthen joint preparedness efforts between
MoEs and humanitarian partners as a prerequisite to an effective rapid EiE response.

2.1
Joint preparedness planning
For the rapid response to be effective and timely, preparedness efforts
must be efficiently and jointly planned by MoEs and humanitarian partners.
Planning of preparedness efforts may include:

i cooperation and collaboration with other key ministries or the national

agency for disaster management (where one exists), to promote the
integration of EiE into multi-sectoral rapid response efforts and coordination
between the EiE response and other multi-sectoral RRMs, and to support
subnational and local levels to work jointly with other line ministries at
subnational level, and with teachers, school principals and staff, parents,
and parent–teacher associations (PTAs), to engage in the preparation of
contingency plans at subnational and local levels and improve coordination;

ii ensuring that other services to ensure protective, safe, and inclusive

education are also part of education preparedness and contingency plans;

iii conducting advocacy targeting higher-level national government authorities

for education to be included in national preparedness/contingency plans,
as a life-saving service given its role in improving protection, addressing
malnutrition or healthcare issues including through the provision of safe
spaces, school feeding programmes, or school-based health services;

iv ensuring the setting up, operationalization and use of an early warning

system,1 grounded at grassroots level;

v engaging local-level leaders in contributing to the formulation and design

of preparedness strategies.

1
Such early warning systems
would alert schools, teachers,
and learners in case of a looming
disaster or other types of crisis,
through various communication
channels, to take appropriate
anticipatory actions.

Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief 7
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How to strengthen joint
MoE and humanitarian
partner preparedness

2.2
Preparing for rapid needs assessments
As part of rapid EiE preparedness efforts, MoEs and partners should
jointly plan for the effective deployment of rapid education needs assessments.
Such assessments should include measures to:

i jointly develop a common needs assessment framework and key indicators

as part of the preparedness plans of MoE and humanitarian actors;
n strengthen community participation in the design, implementation,
and dissemination of needs assessments, ensuring all language
communities are included;
n agree on priority education questions and indicators for inclusion
in joint assessments;

ii define clear roles and responsibilities for conducting joint assessments

and ensure the human, financial, and logistical resources associated
with these roles;

iii ensure rapid EiE data collection tools/checklists are cascaded and
contextualized at local level, including translation into relevant languages,
and support uptake at subnational level;

iv provide EiE data literacy capacity-building for MoE staff at subnational level;

v work with local/school communities to jointly review and rate risks in

vulnerable areas (those most likely to be affected by crisis, including areas
likely to receive displaced populations) and build on existing risk analyses
where relevant, to complement rapid needs assessment data and inform
the elaboration of preparedness plans.

© UNICEF/UN0594293/Naftalin

8 Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief
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How to strengthen joint
MoE and humanitarian
partner preparedness

2.3
Planning for implementation
Through coordination entities (e.g. education cluster, EiE working group),
MoEs and partners should also jointly prepare for the effective and rapid
deployment of relevant activities, as outlined in the RRM Preparedness Checklist.

In terms of planning for Temporary Learning Spaces (TLS) and Teaching/

Learning Materials (TLM), MoE and partners’ joint actions might include:

i advocating to donors for a result/contingency line in all proposals, allowing

MoEs/partners to pre-position adequate supplies and respond rapidly;

ii pre-determining essential supplies needed for rapid provision and

set-up of TLS and other means to provide continuing education services;

iii establishing and maintaining real-time maps and inventories

of pre-positioned supplies;

iv pre-determining the composition of teaching and learning kits, ensuring

these are contextualized and procurement localized as much as possible,
keeping in mind local supply chain constraints;

v localizing, adapting, and translating guidelines teacher training and

curriculum materials to be used in conjunction with each pre-packaged kit;

vi reviewing and updating relevant agreements with local suppliers;

vii ensuring agreements for storage, rapid deployment, and transport of TLS
and TLM as part of rapid EiE response.

MoEs should also coordinate with other relevant line ministries to explore the
opportunity of joint warehousing and ensure they are able to provide warehousing
for pre-positioned supplies at local level, to facilitate rapid deployment of
the stock.

In terms of planning for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS),

MoEs’ and partners’ joint actions could include:

i determining what emergency curriculum and types of supplementary

packages and materials are available and appropriate for likely emergency
scenarios;

ii collaborating with the child protection sector to ensure a standard package

is available for MHPSS;

iii identifying, localizing, and adapting materials for likely emergency themes;

iv pre-training teachers and school administrators to ensure a roster of trained

professionals on MHPSS;

v ensuring a rapid training package in accessible formats and languages

is available to teachers and other facilitators;

vi ensuring close coordination with other relevant ministries including,

for instance, the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social Services.

Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief 9
 2
How to strengthen joint
MoE and humanitarian
partner preparedness

© UNICEF/UN0438221/Ramasomanana
MoEs and partners should also plan for joint actions to provide Social and
Emotional Learning (SEL), which could include:

i ensuring the inclusion of SEL in preparedness, familiarization with

key indicators, and providing teachers/facilitators with core training
and resources;

ii conducting advocacy with schools, teachers, and caregivers on the

importance of SEL.

Finally, in terms of planning for teacher support and mobilization during the
acute phase of the emergency, MoEs’ and partners’ joint actions could include:

i establishing a specific policy on teacher compensation during emergencies,

in line with MoE policy on teacher compensation;

ii developing a teacher mobilization and rapid minimum training plan;

iii ensuring pre-crisis training is provided on a scale and frequency that ensures
rapid readiness of teachers and facilitators. In multilingual contexts, it would
be important to provide interpretation at training to ensure teachers with
marginalized first languages are fully prepared.

10 Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief
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How to strengthen joint
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partner preparedness

2.4
Coordination and communication
To alleviate ambiguities around roles and responsibilities, and to ensure
humanitarian principles are adhered to, MoEs and partners should jointly enhance
sector and intersectoral coordination mechanisms and communication flows before
rapid-onset emergencies and clarify the roles and responsibilities of education
actors, to be better prepared in the event of a crisis. More specifically, MoEs and
partners should:

i jointly draft and disseminate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

outlining the roles and responsibilities of the MoE at national and subnational
levels, and of humanitarian partners during the onset of emergencies;

ii conduct and regularly update EiE-related capacity assessments among

education staff at subnational level to identify potential gaps across
key functions of the MoE, to contribute to implementing rapid EiE responses;

iii conduct surveys on the understanding of EiE standards by MoE staff at

subnational level, to assess the uptake of EiE-related training and inform
future targeted capacity-building efforts.

In addition, MoEs should endeavour to:

i draft clear ToRs (terms of reference) for MoE staff tasked with rapid EiE
responsibilities, to improve their accountability for these interventions;

ii improve awareness-raising across all MoE departments concerned on

their responsibility to assist MoE EiE focal point(s) with relevant technical
expertise and coordinated support during a rapid-onset emergency.

Humanitarian partners’ specific actions to strengthen MoEs’ role in coordination

could include:

i promoting the deployment of dedicated MoE staff at national and subnational

levels to focus on EiE-related functions and advocate against MoE staff ‘double
hatting’ (taking on EiE- related responsibilities in addition to regular functions)
as much as feasible;

ii ensuring MoEs understand and use the 5W or partner presence mapping

conducted by the Education Cluster more systematically, to know which
partners can be tapped into during a rapid-onset emergency;

iii ensuring better links with the Local Education Group (LEG) (e.g. cluster
coordinators could sit in on these meetings, and LEG members not engaged
in humanitarian action could sit in on both cluster and Humanitarian Country
Team [HCT] meetings) to foster information-sharing and coordination on
rapid EiE across development and humanitarian partners.

Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief 11
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How to strengthen joint
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partner preparedness

2.5
Resource allocation
Finally, MoEs and partners should jointly reinforce advocacy for resource
mobilization efforts, to ensure the timely allocation of adequate resources for rapid
EiE preparedness planning. MoEs and partners’ actions in this regard, in line with
the RRM Preparedness Checklist, could include:

i determining likely funding needs for the first three months of potential
emergency scenarios based on contingency and preparedness planning,
including supplies and human resources;

ii maintaining and strengthening relations with key donors at country level,

keeping them informed about preparedness efforts, and jointly developing
donor mapping to identify available resources in each location and for
each type of crisis in the event of a rapid-onset emergency;

iii developing MoE capacities for resource mobilization, including training on

writing proposals and advocacy strategies in relation to rapid EiE response.

In addition, MoEs should consider:

i dedicating part of their national budget to pre-positioning school supplies,

which could be mobilized during a rapid-onset emergency.

12 Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief
3 How to strengthen MoEs’ role
during rapid responses

This section outlines entry points to strengthen the role of MoEs during rapid
EiE responses and how such engagement can be leveraged to improve the
effectiveness of rapid responses. More specifically, it looks at the role of MoEs in:

i providing access in hard-to-reach affected areas;

ii conducting rapid needs assessments (RNAs);

iii planning and implementing rapid EiE responses;

iv ensuring rapid EiE coordination;

v supporting financing and budget implementation during the acute phase

of the emergency.

3.1
Access to hard-to-reach crisis-affected areas
Central to the implementation of RNA and rapid EiE response is the issue of access.
MoEs should endeavour to enable access by humanitarian partners to hard-to-reach
areas and reduce contextual impediments to rapid response, including by removing
unnecessary restrictions to specific geographic areas, providing pre-approval
or rapid approval processes, seeking permissions, or negotiating roadblocks, as
well as improving security for humanitarian partners. This should be done in close
liaison with national and local authorities, as well as with local communities.

3.2
Rapid needs assessments and linkages with
longer-term data systems
Rapid needs assessments and EiE-related data collection are central to providing
education in emergency situations. However, there is often a lack of involvement
of MoEs in humanitarian data collection processes and RNAs. In some settings,
weak coordination of RNAs with MoE-led EiE-related data collection processes has
created inefficiencies. The table below outlines possible entry points to strengthen
MoEs’ engagement during rapid needs assessments, as well as key considerations
to plan for continuity during the initial assessment phase.

Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief 13
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How to strengthen
MoEs’ role during
rapid responses

Engaging MoEs during rapid needs assessments

MoE-specific actions n Closely coordinate with humanitarian actors on data collection

(subnational education and analysis.
authorities) n Collect data and information from schools on the impact of
the crisis on students, education personnel, and infrastructure.
n Share data with partners and report to higher-level authorities
through appropriate coordination mechanisms.

Partner-specific actions n Closely coordinate with MoE data collection, processing, sharing
and analysis, of the education component of the multi-sectoral
RNA, and share findings with other sectors/clusters and MoEs at
national and subnational levels through the coordination entities.
n Facilitate MoEs’ active participation in initial RNAs and monitoring
(where/when appropriate).

Joint MoE/partner actions n Participate in multi-sectoral initial RNAs. If needed, deploy

an assessment team to double-check the data on the ground.

Planning for continuity during the initial assessment phase

MoE-specific actions n Triangulate rapid EiE-related data with institutional information

system data (including the Education Management Information
System [EMIS]), to compare with pre-crisis disparities on a set of
clearly pre-defined indicators and contribute to the mobilization
of adequate resources.
n Use updated contingency plan(s) to inform the elaboration of
annual operational plans and thereby ensure rapid EiE response
components are mainstreamed into MoE planning processes.

Joint MoE/partner actions n Facilitate the integration of rapid EiE data into the EMIS
(e.g. a specific module in the EMIS that could be activated quickly
for a specific crisis-affected location and could provide dynamic
and available data in a continuous flow).

3.3
Rapid response implementation and alignment
with education policy frameworks
Enhancing the role of MoEs in the planning and actual implementation of rapid
EiE responses, focused on education activities that can be implemented for
up to a six-month window to meet the acute and immediate education needs
of vulnerable children in hard-to-reach areas, requires drawing on the pivotal role
played by subnational-level education authorities and local authorities on the front
line of the humanitarian response and aware of the specificities of local contexts.
To leverage the role of subnational-level MoEs to deploy rapid EiE packages, their
participation should be ensured early on in the process, from carrying out the
rapid initial needs assessments. Throughout the implementation of the rapid EiE
response, it is critical to plan for continuity as early as possible, in order to bridge
the gap between emergency and longer-term programming, including improved
learning outcomes and enhanced resilience.

14 Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief
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How to strengthen
MoEs’ role during
rapid responses

Capitalizing on the pivotal role of subnational-level education

authorities and local authorities to deploy standard rapid EiE packages

Subnational-level n In close liaison with local authorities, ensure education spaces

MoE-specific actions, are accessible and safe, to ensure the provision of inclusive
supported by partners non-formal education and protection.
n Closely collaborate with humanitarian partners to define priority
locations for rapid response implementation, with a particular
focus on the most marginalized populations.
n Leverage the role of local education offices, PTAs, and school
management committees (SMCs) as important players in
emergency response at local level, notably to verify risk factors,
identify local resources, and assess learning conditions.
n Liaise with humanitarian partners to ensure the deployment
of pre-positioned supplies, and that TLS/child-friendly safe
spaces (CFSSs) meet national MoE standards.
n In close coordination with humanitarian partners, ensure alternate
and continuous education: provide non-formal education and
alternate learning opportunities (distance education, radio
broadcast, TV, etc.) when physical access is not possible, with
a focus on the most marginalized groups.
n Work closely and in consultation with affected communities to
contextualize rapid response and ensure better relevance and
greater potential for scalability and sustainability of interventions.

Partner-specific actions n Provide safe, protective, and quality learning spaces: deploy
in close coordination pre-positioned supplies, provide, TLS/CFSS that meet national
with subnational MoE standards.
education authorities n Provide relevant support to subnational education authorities
to facilitate coordination and information-sharing in and from
hard-to-reach areas.
n Disseminate life-saving messages, ensure child safeguarding,
and provide SEL and MHPSS.
n Ensure alternate and continuous education opportunities:
provide non-formal education and alternate learning
opportunities in areas without physical access, focusing
on the most vulnerable and marginalized groups.
n Advocate with education authorities for education to be
considered life-saving, for schools occupied as shelters or for
military purposes to be vacated, and for all education spaces
to be safe and accessible.

Planning for continuity as early as possible and throughout the implementation of

rapid EiE responses: bridging the gap between emergency and longer-term programming,
including improved learning outcomes and enhanced resilience

MoE-specific actions, n Ensure available local resources/materials are used for rapid
supported by partners EiE responses when feasible and host community needs are taken
into consideration in the response.
n Start preparing for back-to-school campaigns, as relevant,
as early as possible.
n Based on assessments, plan for school relocation, repair,
or reconstruction.
n Plan for additional pre-positioning of supplies for further expected
or enduring crises.
n Start planning for the transition from temporary and non-formal
education to the reintegration of all students into the formal
education system as soon as possible. For displaced children
who were enrolled in the formal system, plan for their integration
into the formal system in their new location.

Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief 15
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How to strengthen
MoEs’ role during
rapid responses

© UNICEF/UN0373151/Chol
3.4
Coordination
In order to enhance MoEs’ engagement during rapid EiE response, it is key
to strengthen their roles in RRM coordination and EiE coordination through
existing coordination mechanisms during the acute phase of the crisis, both within
MoE departments and across administrative levels, as well as between MoEs, other
ministries, and humanitarian partners.

Leveraging MoEs’ coordination role during the rapid response

MoE-specific actions n Where possible, maintain a convening and co-coordinating

role of rapid EiE responses in the national and subnational
clusters, and ensure intersectoral coordination from the initial
phases of the response by coordinating with other multi-sectoral
RRMs and liaising closely with relevant ministries, including
Ministries of Health, Water, and Sanitation, Ministry of Interior,
and the department or body in charge of disaster management/
humanitarian affairs, notably to strengthen referral pathways
and avoid the use of schools as shelters.

Planning for continuity throughout the coordination of rapid EiE responses

Joint MoE/partner actions n Ensure coordination with and engagement of local communities
throughout rapid EiE response, strengthen community
structures’ capacities, such as parent-teacher-student
associations, and ensure their inclusion in EiE response
design and implementation processes.

Coordination entities- n Ensure coordination with Local Education Groups to start

specific actions planning for the transition from rapid EiE to recovery efforts.

16 Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief
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How to strengthen
MoEs’ role during
rapid responses

3.5
Resource mobilization
Gaps and imbalances in financial resources during rapid responses tend to
limit MoEs’ leadership and thereby favour partner-led interventions that may
undermine MoE leadership and oversight. MoEs’ role should be leveraged
and strengthened to contribute to rapid resource mobilization efforts during
rapid-onset emergencies, including through domestic sources, and to enhance
effective and timely budget implementation during rapid response.

Fostering resource mobilization and financing during rapid response

MoE-specific actions n Ensure contingency funds are made available to relevant

decentralized levels of MoEs.
n Contribute to fundraising through appeals to the Ministry
of Finance and other internal structures for dedicated
increased funding for education response within the broader
emergency response.

Coordinating entities- n Use rapid needs assessments and updated contingency plans
specific actions to fundraise additional resources in priority areas.
n Ensure education is integrated into appeals and other proposals
in collaboration with OCHA.
n Request rapid seed funding from pooled funding mechanisms.
n Request MoE contingency budget to be made available, and
jointly identify and advocate with MoE for funding for the coming
months, to ensure scalability of rapid response efforts.

Enhancing effective and timely budget implementation during rapid response

MoE-specific actions n Activate ‘crisis procedures’ to allow for the swifter disbursement
of funds and for less bureaucratic procurement procedures.
n Consider redesigning funding flows from national to sublevels,
to enable rapidly deployable funds.

Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief 17
 4 Fostering an enabling environment
for effective MoE engagement
and leadership

To facilitate the implementation of the actions outlined in the above sections, and
to enhance the effectiveness of preparedness measures, an enabling environment
must exist. The following section describes key enablers and/or prerequisites
that MoEs at national level and subnational levels, as well as humanitarian partners,
should consider putting in place to strengthen rapid EiE responses and to improve their
sustainability. Ultimately, these enablers will help education actors to bridge the
gap between emergency and longer-term programming and will contribute to making
rapid EiE responses more effective and accountable to affected populations from
the onset of crises.

4.1
Policy and planning: adoption of a crisis-sensitive
planning approach
A key enabler for effective rapid responses is crisis-sensitive planning. It
strengthens preparedness measures, limiting vulnerability to hazards; prevention
and mitigation, limiting the impact of crises; and recovery, by having systems in
place to deliver services that meet people’s needs in a timely manner and adapt
to local contexts.

To move away from token and ad hoc engagement and ensure stronger
engagement and leadership in rapid EiE responses, MoEs should foster
a coherent policy environment where crisis preparedness, prevention,
and response are institutionalized. First of all, MoEs should ensure education
is integrated into government preparedness efforts, contingency planning,
or disaster risk reduction (DRR) plans, to ensure the maintenance of key basic
services across all circumstances. Moreover, MoEs should conduct analyses
of the vulnerabilities of the education system, including vulnerabilities to
natural hazards, climate change, and conflict, and use these analyses to inform
the mainstreaming of emergency preparedness and response into all education
policies and planning processes (education sector plans, annual operational plans,
education-related policies and strategies) and ensure these are underpinned
by humanitarian principles. MoEs should adapt their operational tools and
procedures to make them flexible in case of emergencies, and also rehabilitate
their educational facilities and infrastructure (through the use of disaster- and
climate-resilient design and materials). Likewise, there may be a need to adapt
the curriculum and the governance of the national education system. The latter
may involve, as relevant, the establishment of a unit dedicated to EiE, supported
by highly qualified staff and reinforced accountability mechanisms. These
policies, procedures, and processes should be cascaded down to subnational
levels. In addition, national governments should consider requiring that any
rapid cross-sector response intervention includes education.

18 Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief
4
Fostering an enabling
environment for effective
MoE engagement
and leadership
MoEs should consider leading, in coordination with humanitarian coordination
partners, the development of costed multi-hazard contingency plans at national
level, which would guide EiE responses, including rapid responses, and ensure the
transition from rapid EiE to longer-term recovery and sustainability. For instance,
teacher training and temporary school construction should be guided by MoEs’
long-term standards and targets. Such contingency plans should be contextualized
to subnational realities through consultations with communities, including
the most marginalized groups, and should facilitate local ownership. More
specifically, MoEs and partners should include communities from the beginning
of rapid responses, including local leaders and institutions, PTAs, and SMCs.
To do so, MoEs and partners should strengthen community participation in the
design, implementation, and dissemination of needs assessments, and ensure
all language communities are included.

To improve emergency preparedness and response at school level, MoEs should

require schools to include, in school improvement plans, disaster risk reduction and
preparedness measures, and, in school grants, a budget line for school-level emergency
preparedness and rapid response.

Efforts to institutionalize emergency preparedness and response should

complement the mobilization of dedicated funding for EiE and a robust policy
of skills development for emergency preparedness and response. Concerning
the latter, the capacities of local level education experts, school administrators,
and teachers should be strengthened on emergency preparedness and rapid
EiE response, including on issues related to early warning and the preparation
of contingency plans, with a view to fostering a culture of preparedness across
all levels of the MoE, and to strengthening resilience down to school level.
Teacher provision should also ensure the availability of female teachers, including
in remote and/or hard-to-reach areas. Capacity development initiatives must address
the issue of frequent staff turnover and include strategies for organizing turnover
and ensuring the transfer of skills related to rapid EiE, with particular attention to
subnational education offices in remote areas.

Finally, governments should allow for an increased delegation of decision-making

power to subnational levels, including local authorities on the front line of the
humanitarian response. It is indeed necessary to strengthen decentralization
processes for a more effective, contextual, and faster implementation of responses
to local needs. MoEs should notably deepen the involvement of subnational
levels in policy design, strategic planning, and decision-making, and ensure they
are adequately supported to contextualize and implement policies and plans
in relation to emergency response and risk management from the earliest
stages of a crisis.

Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief 19
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Fostering an enabling
environment for effective
MoE engagement
and leadership
4.2
Improved data capacities
To really understand the scope of a crisis, as well as communities’ differentiated
education needs, stakeholders need access to, and must make use of, reliable
data. And, to ensure resources are directed swiftly and effectively during the rapid
phase, the timeliness and security of these data is crucial.

Overall, partners should strengthen the capacities of MoEs at national and

subnational levels to collect and use timely EiE data for making informed decisions,
through the provision of regular training to staff at all stages of the EiE-related
data life cycle, including on how to engage in and contribute to rapid needs
assessments in collaboration with humanitarian partners. Training should be
supplemented by peer-to-peer learning. MoEs could consider establishing a roster
of trained data collectors who can be rapidly deployed in hard-to-reach areas. As
stated above, partners could also provide subnational education offices with the
necessary equipment (including satellite phones, information, and communication
technology [ICT] equipment, as well as relevant means of transportation) to
collect and disseminate data from hard-to-reach areas. Governments could
also invest more in alternative and/or renewable energy sources to ensure
that power shortages are not an obstacle to the collection and reporting of data
in the affected areas and hence to the deployment of a rapid EiE response that
is planned based on real needs in the most remote areas.

To help MoEs to take a more active role in rapid EiE responses, partners
should support their EMIS departments to integrate data collection, use, and
management processes, notably to ensure the data collected as part of rapid
EiE assessments are consolidated at all levels and feed into the national EMIS.
More generally, partners should consider providing support to the MoE
to make the EMIS crisis-sensitive, and to harmonize the collection and production
of EiE-related data, by supporting the revision and harmonization of EiE data
collection tools/checklists, indicators, and processes, including for rapid EiE,
which can be cascaded and contextualized at subnational levels. The MoE should
also be supported on the development of further key performance indicators
related to EiE. MoEs and partners should also use strengthened monitoring,
evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL), integrated into the EMIS,
to monitor transitions from informal to formal education and strengthen lessons
learned. MoEs should consider strengthening cooperation with national statistical
authorities to ensure better integration of data, including EiE-related data.

20 Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief
4
Fostering an enabling
environment for effective
MoE engagement
and leadership
Partners should consider MoEs as a key owners/actors in data collection and
management processes, and engage education authorities at all levels in data
collection and analysis, from the rapid assessment stages. To strengthen this
perception, MoEs should not only ensure that financial resources are dedicated
to conducting rapid EiE assessments, but also strengthen the quality of data from
MoE sources. For instance, prior to emergencies, MoEs could establish data
validation bodies within subnational education offices that would have the capacity
to cross-check EiE-related data collected and disseminate them to other levels
of the MoE and to partners. Finally, MoEs should also consider establishing
data backup systems to prevent risks of losing data and information during
a rapid-onset emergency.

Lastly, MoEs and partners should consider establishing data-sharing protocols,

mindful of protection and security concerns, which would provide a trustworthy
framework for systematic EiE-related data-sharing between partners and MoEs.

4.3
Enhanced coordination and communication
Effective planning and implementation of rapid responses depend on strong
coordination. Such coordination is especially important in contexts where
resources are particularly constrained and where it is therefore vital to ensure
available resources are used efficiently.

MoEs should capitalize more on coordination mechanisms offered through the

education cluster meetings or EiE working groups to promote coherence between
rapid education responses and government priorities, in particular by promoting the
alignment of partner initiatives with MoEs’ annual work plans, to further optimize
the use of the limited resources available for rapid EiE, and to create synergies
among the different interventions. Partners should be encouraged to intervene
within the framework of the education cluster or EiE working group co-led by
MoEs, to avoid duplication and promote better coverage of all affected localities
in terms of rapid response following rapid-onset emergencies.

Working across different levels and sectors is vital for effective rapid EiE responses.
As such, specific provisions for intersectoral coordination, from national to subnational
level, and more specifically on coordination with existing multi-sectoral RRMs, should
be integrated into subnational multi-hazard contingency/preparedness plans.
These plans should outline coordination mechanisms between MoEs and partners
at subnational level and between different line ministries at subnational level,
as well as across MoE departments. Improved intersectoral coordination would,
for instance, obviate the use of classrooms as shelters by affected populations.

In parallel, partners should consider scaling up support to MoEs to take on their

primary duty-bearer roles in terms of providing education during crises, including
rapid EiE responses. In particular, the capacities of subnational education clusters
should be strengthened to effectively coordinate rapid EiE interventions, and support
should be provided to subnational MoE staff.

Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief 21
 4
Fostering an enabling
environment for effective
MoE engagement
and leadership
4.4
Strengthened financing and budget
implementation
Preparing for and implementing rapid responses, especially in hard-to-reach
and insecure areas, requires significant funding. Given the importance of
the availability of financial resources to facilitate an MoE’s role in rapid response
efforts and to operationalize existing rapid EiE arrangements, governments
should increase resources available to MoEs for rapid EiE. More specifically,
MoEs should create a dedicated budget line for rapid EiE, including preparedness
at national and subnational levels. This would require advocacy to the Ministry
of Finance and other ministries, including the prime minister or president’s
office for sector and joint sector budgets for emergency response. MoEs could
also consider requiring that EiE grant funding from donors include a minimum
percentage allocated to rapid responses.

With a view to strengthening resource mobilization for rapid EiE, MoEs and
partners should target advocacy towards higher-level authorities and the
OCHA to ensure education is considered life-saving and life-sustaining, and
its protective capacity recognized, so that education is itself prioritized in rapid
responses. MoEs should also consider investing in consistent and rigorous
rapid education needs assessments to build the case for additional funding,
and putting in place a coordinated effective early warning system across
all levels, linked with jointly developed and costed multi-hazard contingency
plans. These would constitute powerful resource mobilization tools to advocate
with higher-level government authorities on the importance of prioritizing
education in rapid responses.

To improve budget implementation and ensure resources, from national

to school level, are disbursed more swiftly in response to rapidly identified
needs, MoEs should put in place contingency financing mechanisms and ensure
the decentralization of powers and budgets. They should also advocate for
the simplification of procurement procedures during emergencies.

Finally, MoEs should consider encouraging the mobilization of local resources

combined with community-based approaches, as well as advocating for the
use of local resources for EiE and rapid EiE.

22 Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief
 References

ACAPS. 2021. Humanitarian Access Overview,

July 2020. Geneva: ACAPS. Retrieved from:
www.acaps.org/sites/acaps/files/products/
files/20210719_acaps_humanitarian_access_
overview_july_2021.pdf.
OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs). 2017. New Way of
Working. New York: OCHA. Retrieved from:
https://www.unocha.org/sites/unocha/files/
NWOW%20Booklet%20low%20res.002_0.pdf.
––––. 2022. Global Humanitarian Overview 2022:
Mid-Year Update: Snapshot as
of 21 June 2022. New York: UN OCHA.
REACH; GEC (Global Education Cluster). 2020.
Rapid Response Mechanisms:
Global Mapping and Assessment –
Lessons learned, October 2020.
University of Sussex. 2022. Strengthening Rapid
Education Responses in Acute Emergencies:
Synthesis Report.

Strengthening Ministry of Education Engagement and Leadership in Rapid Education in Emergency Response: Policy Brief 23
For more information:
[email protected]
www.iiep.unesco.org