basic education for refugees and displaced...

Division 43Health, Education, Social Protection

Basic education for refugees and displaced populations

2

Published byDeutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH– German Technical Cooperation –Postfach 5180, 65726 EschbornInternet: http://www.gtz.de

Division of Health, Education, Social Protection

Sector Project “Education and Conflict Transformation”

ResponsibleDr. Rüdiger Blumör

AuthorsProf. Dr. Helmut Drechsler is professor emeritus for education with 20 years of professional experience in education advisory services in West, Central and EastAfrica. He was teamleader of a basic education programme for Rwandan refugeesin Tanzania. At present, he is professor cum university teaching position at the faculty of education, University Dresden on education in Africa.Holger Munsch, beeing an engineer and social scientist, worked for more than 25 years in Africa and Asia in development cooperation. Since 2000 he has workedfor GTZ in Pakistan to advise in vocational training/trade testing (Quetta) and tolead a basic education programme for Afghan refugees (BEFARe) into a self-sustaining and independent NGO. In spring 2005 he took part in a multi-donorcountry evaluation of humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for Afghanistan(2001-2004), beeing responsible for the education sector.Jürgen Wintermeier has work experience abroad for many years with GTZ, DEDand international NGO (amongst other countries in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya,Bosnia, Pakistan) as programme leader and in project management. He has specialised in post-conflict situations and refugee education. Since 2000 he hasworked as freelance consultant and adviser for UNHCR and GTZ.

Federal German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)Division 311

EditingBeate Wörner, Stuttgart

TranslationKevin Christian, Frankfurt

LayoutJutta Herden, Stuttgart

August 2005

5 Foreword

8 Part 1

8 The international response

8 1.1 Introduction

9 1.2 International framework agreements

10 1.3 The international response – policies, strategies and programmes

23 1.4 Challenges for the future

27 1.5 Conclusions

31 1.6 List of abbreviations

33 1.7 List of resource materials

35 Part 2

35 Case study: Basic education for Afghan refugees (1990-2004)

36 2.1 Introduction

36 2.2 BEFARe – From project to NGO

48 2.3 The education concept of BEFARe

54 2.4 The BEFARe concept for peace education and conflict management

56 2.5 Unintended effects



61 Part 3

61 Case study: Basic education for children and young people in Rwanda and Tanzania (1984-2001)

61 3.1 Introduction

61 3.2 Overview of education assistance with Rwanda between 1984 and 2001

63 3.3 Rwanda – 1991 to April 1994

66 3.4 In the refugee camps of Tanzania – 1994-1995

73 3.5 The work in Rwanda continues

78 3.6 The STE-SMEP project – 1997-2001



Contents

3

On 25 September 1940 Walter Benjamin crossed the

Pyrenees with a small group of refugees. The philoso-

pher had heart problems and at times had to be car-

ried up the mountains. The route taken by the group

was from Banyuls in France along an old smugglers’

path to the Spanish border town of Port-Bou, from

where Benjamin, who had a visa for the USA, intended

to travel on to Lisbon. Once the group finally arrived

in Port-Bou the Spanish border police refused them

entry. Overnight new instructions had arrived from

Madrid; not only were Spanish transit papers required

but also an exit visa from France. The next day the

group was deported to France – right back into the

arms of the Gestapo. Benjamin had a dose of mor-

phine with him. In the night of 25/26 September

he committed suicide in the Hotel Fonda Francia.

“No-one can take any form of control over a dead

man,” he wrote. The “late Benjamin Walter” was

issued with a bill by the hotel to the amount of two

hundred and sixty-three pesetas and sixty centimes

for five lemon mineral waters, four telephone calls,

four days hotel accommodation, clothing of the

corpse, whitewashing of the walls, service fees,

taxes and welfare payments.

This introductory description of a failed attempt to flee

a dictatorship is intended to be a reminder that refugees

have a name. When the articles by Wintermeier,

Munsch and Drechsler speak of a flow of refugees it

should not be forgotten that we are dealing with real

people. The three studies were commissioned by the

sector project Education and Conflict Management.

The sector project has been implemented since 2004

by Division 43 of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische

Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) on behalf of the Federal

Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

(BMZ). Among the tasks of the sector project is the

development of concepts and strategies for education

integration for disadvantaged children and young peo-

ple. With their focus on refugees and displaced per-

sons, the studies are an evaluation of the experiences

to date in technical cooperation.

Wintermeier provides an introduction to the subject

matter, swiftly and concisely outlining the challenges

to be taken up by the international community with

respect to basic education for refugees and displaced

persons. Against the background of the corresponding

international agreements – from the declarations on

human rights to the millennium development goals and

the “Education For All” initiative” – he describes the

fundamental strategies and programmes at the major

international organisations. He provides an excellent

overview of the international debate, and thus sets a

convincing framework for the two case studies.

In the first case study Munsch describes and analyses

the diverse education offerings for Afghan refugees in

North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. The

project Basic Education for Afghan Refugees, BEFARe,

includes measures for in-school and out-of-school basic

education for children and young people in the ref-

ugee camps, as well as education programmes for

adults (e.g. literacy courses), and in particular for

women. In this respect innovative approaches were

tested and integrated into the education work with

refugees. One approach which has proved its worth is

the home school model for the integration of boys and

girls who have to date not attended school. The chil-

dren receive a more compact course offering from spe-

cially trained teachers in public and private buildings

in the neighbourhood. The home school model is an

alternative to attending school that has been accepted

by parents, and in particular for girls. The girls do not

go to school – the school comes to the girls.

As is made clear in this example, the education concept

of BEFARe closely intertwined school development and

community participation. Thus it was possible to mo-

bilise the self-help potential of the refugees. BEFARe

initiated and supported school committees, in which

the parents played a major role. The school commit-

tees made a decisive contribution to increasing the

trust placed in schools by parents, with the effect that

they were prepared to send their children, and above

Foreword

5

all the girls, to school. Moreover, the school committees

assumed the function of dispute mediators. Traditional

forms of conflict resolution could thus be integrated

into school development. Whether and how the eman-

cipatory power of the school committees, their “em-

powerment”, has had a sustainable impact would still

have to be examined in detail.

BEFARe emerged at the beginning of the 1990s from a

technical cooperation project for education assistance

in Pakistan, conducted since 1984, for areas affected

by an influx of refugees. Parallel to this there was a

second pilot project for Pakistani children and young

people in the Charsadda District of NWFP. In the mean-

time this has developed into a province-wide pro-

gramme for basic education assistance. Both BEFARe

and the projects for Pakistani target groups initially

combine the development of new teaching and learn-

ing materials (textbooks and teacher manuals) with

intensive further training of teachers in the use of these

materials, on the one hand, and the innovative didactic-

methodical approaches of pupil-oriented teaching, on

the other hand.

In numerous project phases the concept and objectives

of BEFARe were constantly adapted so as to meet the

education requirements of the target groups and at

the same time to comply with the demands of various

project partners and clients. This also necessitated

a complex organisational structure at BEFARe itself.

Munsch describes in detail the process of organisa-

tional development against the background of the

political situation in Afghanistan (security situation,

Taliban regime, developments after 11 September

2001), of the respective contract situation, and the

necessary organisational areas. In this respect Munsch

avails of his experiences as team manager for GTZ in

the final project phase through to the end of 2003. In

the meantime BEFARe has been transformed into a

non-governmental organisation (NGO) (AG-BASEd). It

offers its services to those Afghan refugees who have

remained in Pakistan and also to the Afghan Ministry

of Education in Kabul. As an NGO it no longer re-

ceives support from German development cooperation.

In terms of development cooperation it would indeed

be interesting to clarify whether the development of

BEFARe into an independent NGO could serve as a

future model.

For his description of education assistance in Rwanda

Drechsler elected to use a chronological format. He

is thus able to present a gripping description of the

continuity in education assistance, initially in Rwanda,

thereafter in the refugee camps in Tanzania and, after

the return of the refugees to their native country, in

Rwanda again. The original approach in Rwanda

within the framework of the education reform at the

beginning of the 1990s was geared to the introduction

of life-oriented teaching in primary school. The

Ministry of Education was advised and aided in the

development of the curriculum, as well as the teaching

and learning materials, for the new subject “Sciences

et Technologie Elémentaire” (STE). At the same time

pupil- and practice-oriented teaching methods were

introduced in teacher training. The school administra-

tion was qualified accordingly and the parents sensi-

bilised for the new subject and the teaching methods.

After the genocide and mass exodus of the population

to neighbouring countries, in the refugee camps it was

possible to build on the competencies of the teachers

and school administration. Furthermore, there was in-

tensive support for the self-help activities of the

refugees in the education sector. The “Ngara Model”

was developed and implemented in cooperation be-

tween UNHCR, UNESCO, UNICEF and GTZ. It met

with international acclaim. Drechsler describes in detail

the challenges and difficulties faced during the entire

process. Despite some differences in the detailed ap-

praisal and evaluation of the organisations involved,

Drechsler points out that the model as a whole was

successful. Ultimately, in an exceptional situation and

under the most difficult of conditions 80,000 children

and young people were able to avail of education

6

offerings. The decisive aspect of the education offerings

was the fact that they were oriented towards peaceful

coexistence in a functioning school community.

Back in Rwanda GTZ was one of the first organisations

to resume its work within the framework of develop-

ment-oriented emergency relief. In this respect educa-

tion assistance again played a major role. The original

project approach was resumed after long negotiations

with the new Ministry of Education and amended in

line with the new situation. Promotion of STE was now

oriented to the newly-designed decentralised further

training structures for teachers. The German technical

and financial cooperation above all aided the develop-

ment of decentralised centres for the further training of

teachers. Again the project made an important contri-

bution to defusing an education policy conflict smoul-

dering in Rwanda’s primary schools as these were out

of touch with everyday life and had an academic ori-

entation. The remarkable aspect of Drechsler’s study

is that he himself experienced all three phases of the

education assistance, including those in the refugee

camps in Tanzania, accompanying and shaping these

as the team manager for GTZ.

Not least of all, the case studies illustrate the necessity

for conflict impact assessment in education work with

refugees. Indeed, it is necessary to develop and apply

differentiated methods and indicators for impact assess-

ment and analysis with education assistance measures

and for the evaluation of peace education measures.

The case studies offer important stimulus for this.

Speaking with hindsight Drechsler believes academic

support for the education assistance in the refugee

camps of Tanzania makes sense. For some time now

the call for intensive education research in complex

emergency situations and post-conflict countries has

become ever louder.1 The two case studies by Drechsler

and Munsch not only contribute to the discussion on

education assistance for refugees, they also serve as an

important basis for the identification of issues which

can be dealt with in education research. The close

networking of education research and development

cooperation in the planning and implementation of

education measures for refugees is indeed something

to which we should aspire.

Port-Bou has not been spared modernisation with con-

crete and steel, yet the cemetery lies above the town

and the little bay is no different to what it was in

September 1940. Port-Bou is not only the last resting

place of Walter Benjamin, but – as the passage for

many a European exile in the past – is also predes-

tined to be a place of memorial which thematises the

topic of flight and refuge itself. “Passages” – the monu-

ment to Walter Benjamin – has been described by the

artist Dani Karavan himself as a homage to all those

who have attempted to escape barbarism. From the

area in front of the cemetery a narrow stairway set be-

tween three-metre high steel walls leads down the

steep incline to the sea, and the eye is drawn to the

waves as they crash against the rocks. When a visitor

turns around at the end of “Passages”, the glimpse of

sky that appears at the end of the narrow corridor tells

the rest of the story. The light at the end of the tunnel

– the light that Benjamin never saw.

The authorities, naturally enough, still have an ambiva-

lent attitude towards the failed attempt to flee. Shortly

before the official inauguration of “Passages” the en-

trance to the stairway was barricaded up with wooden

slats. Affixed had been a sign with the words: “No

unauthorised access”. This ironic touch could have

originated from Walter Benjamin himself – Passages:

No access.2

Rüdiger Blumör

August 2005

7

1 Cf. Christopher Talbot: Recent research and current

research gaps, in: Forced Migration Review, 22,

01/2005, p. 5-6.2 The anecdote on the unveiling of “Passages” comes

from an article by Andrea Köhler in: Die Zeit No. 21

from 20 May 1994.

Jürgen Wintermeier

The international response

1.1 Introduction

“Education is a human right with immense power to

transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of

freedom, democracy and sustainable human develop-

ment” (Kofi A. Annan, UN Secretary-General, 1999).

This statement shows the importance that the interna-

tional community places on education. Ensuring the right

to education is a matter of morality, justice and economic

sense. On a society-wide scale, the denial of education

harms the cause of democracy and social progress and,

by extension, international peace and security.

In recent years there has been an increased interna-

tional discussion on the role of education in emergen-

cies, in crisis situations, during transition from conflict

to peace and in early rehabilitation and reconstruction

scenarios. This increased awareness of education as an

important protection and assistance tool in the context

of humanitarian responses to crisis and disaster has not

been accompanied with adequate attention and funding

by the donor community. There is still an enormous

gap between international declarations and govern-

ment commitments to implement these commitments

in their respective national contexts. Although progress

has undoubtedly been made in the last ten years to

bolster international capacity and coordination to pro-

vide quality education programmes as part of the hu-

manitarian response, much remains to be done.

More children than ever have no access to education.

An estimated 50 countries are experiencing conflict di-

rectly or indirectly, and at least 12 million children are

refugees or internally displaced. These numbers do not

count the many children in conflict countries who,

while not displaced, may be missing out on education

due to the breakdown of basic social services. Thus,

despite the increase in international capacity, millions

of children remain out of school.

At the same time, there are millions of people return-

ing home after displacement and following the prom-

ises of peace agreements, but reintegration of students

and teachers into an education system more than often

to be rebuilt from scratch is another daunting task.

This challenge requires the combined efforts of all

stakeholders, national governments, transitional author-

ities, the international community and returnees alike.

It is important to strengthen their commitment with

additional resources and policies to ensure that all indi-

viduals and groups affected by war, conflict and also

natural disasters have access to quality education.

The international response involves a variety of actors

from within the UN system, bilateral and multilateral

agencies, national education authorities, civil society

and the displaced communities themselves and covers

both humanitarian and development organizations. The

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit

(GTZ) implements technical assistance projects and

programmes on behalf of the German Government,

other governments and international agencies. GTZ’s

main funding comes from the Ministry for Economic

Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which has re-

cently established a special Fund to support “develop-

ment-oriented emergency and transition aid” to address,

among others, issues related to refugees and displaced

populations. GTZ, principally being a development or-

ganization, but also equipped with a humanitarian man-

date that allows it to respond to emergency situations

worldwide, is in the process of revising the concept pap-

er for the strategic implementation of this special Fund.

The Fund is the contribution towards the German Gov-

ernment Action Plans 2015 that include crisis preven-

Part 1

8

tion, conflict resolution, peace building and human

rights activities. Development-oriented emergency and

transition aid has short-, mid- and longer-term dimen-

sions aiming primarily at the provision of immediate

infrastructure and social services, improvement of the

food situation, reintegration of refugees and capacity

building of lower and middle levels of society. At the

same time, it seeks to strengthen the competencies of

social groups and institutions in conflict transformation

and crisis prevention processes, thus systematically in-

tegrating concepts and mechanisms of peace building

and crisis prevention into planned activities of devel-

opment-oriented emergency and transition aid in a

holistic manner.

1.2 International framework agreements

Fundamentally, the right to education is an absolute

right, in all countries and in all situations, and should

be protected no matter what the circumstances. A

number of international declarations and framework

agreements seek to protect this basic human right. This

study has selected a number of the major ones; these

are supplemented by a series of regional agreements

like the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of

the Child where compulsory basic education is pro-

vided for in Article XI.

The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of

Refugees and the 1967 Protocols guarantee refugee

children the right to elementary education in Article 22,

which states that they should be accorded the same

rights and opportunities as nationals of the host country.

Beyond primary school, refugee children are treated

just like other aliens, allowing for the recognition of

foreign school certificates and awarding of scholarships.

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

outlines in Article 26 the right to free and compulsory

education at the elementary level and urges that pro-

fessional and technical education be made available.

The declaration further states that education should

work to strengthen respect for human rights and pro-

mote peace. Parents have the right to choose the kind

of education provided to their child.

The 1966 International Covenant on Economic,

Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) stresses the

right to free and compulsory education at the primary

level and accessible secondary education in Article 13.

The Covenant goes on to call for basic education to

be made available to those who have not received or

completed primary education. Emphasis is placed on

improving conditions and teaching standards.

The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child

(CRC) calls for States in Article 28 to make primary

education compulsory and free to all, and to encour-

age the development of accessible secondary and other

forms of education. Quality and relevance is detailed

in Article 29, which mandates an education that builds

on a child’s potential and supports his/her cultural

identity. Psycho-social support and an enriched cur-

riculum for conflict-affected children are both empha-

sized.

In the 2000 Millennium Declaration Member States

of the United Nations made a very passionate commit-

ment to addressing the crippling poverty and misery in

the world by setting the date of 2015 as the date to

meet the eight goals agreed upon. While achieving

each goal is critical to development, two are consid-

ered to be central to all others – universal primary edu-

cation and the promotion of gender equality and em-

powerment of women. More immediate than the 2015

date, the goal of gender parity in primary and second-

ary education is set to be achieved by 2005. Not only

an end in itself but also part of the broader goal of

education for all, the 2005 goal is the first test of the

world’s commitment to breaking the stranglehold of

poverty. Entering 2005, we know how far we are away

from achieving this common goal.

9

The Education for All (EFA) global movement origi-

nated in 1990 in Jomtien where delegates supported

the World Declaration on Education For All. The World

Education Forum in Dakar in 2000, ten years after

Jomtien, reconfirmed its commitment by formulating

six major goals including free and compulsory primary

education of good quality by 2015, with special em-

phasis on girls and children in difficult circumstances.

To achieve the EFA goals and targets, each government

is expected to constitute EFA Forums at national, pro-

vincial and local levels as a truly representative body

for government, civil society, private sector, support

organizations and communities. The international com-

munity assists governments in the implementation

of EFA national plans of action. UNESCO is the lead

agency in monitoring the progress attained by Member

States, and publishes an annual EFA Global Monitoring

Report, with the last one from December 2004 focusing

on the “quality imperative”.

1.3 The international response – policies, strategies and programmes

International response mechanisms depend on the

mandates, policies and resulting strategies of stakehold-

ers, including their competencies, funding base and

existing field presence when it comes to education

interventions in situations of crisis and conflict. Basic

education services need to be provided right from the

onset of emergencies in the form of short-term human-

itarian assistance, during early recovery processes

following conflicts in the form of mid-term transition

assistance, and in the context of poverty reduction

strategies in the form of long-term development assis-

tance. The organizations listed below all play their

particular roles in these assistance programmes in

accordance with their respective mandates, policies,

strategies and implementation capacity. There are

many others in the public and private sector, but in

the present study focus is on those making substantial

contributions towards basic education programmes for

refugees and displaced populations.

United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees – leading the humanitarian response

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

(UNHCR) is the mandated agency for refugee protec-

tion and assistance. In some instances, and with the

explicit approval of the Security Council, its mandate

is expanded to include internally displaced persons

(IDPs). UNHCR is a humanitarian organisation, relying

on funding from member states. Its main policy-making

body, the Executive Committee (EXCOM), has repeatedly

stressed the importance of providing basic education

as part of UNHCR’s assistance and protection mandate

with a view to finding durable solutions. Goal five of

the Agenda For Protection, UNHCR’s major policy doc-

ument, refers to education as a tool for durable solu-

tions (Goal 5, objective 7: “States to consider expanding

possibilities for education, vocational training, and

agricultural and other income-generating programmes,

benefiting men and women equitably”). Goal six refers

to education as a tool of protection (Goal 6, objective

2: “States to accord importance to primary and second-

ary education for refugees, including by providing

funding to host States and UNHCR, in recognition that

education is an important tool of protection”).

Within UNHCR’s Division of Operational Support (DOS)

and its Women, Children and Community Development

Section (WCCDS), the Education Unit is the responsible

body for assisting country and field offices in the im-

plementation of the Education Field Guidelines (EFG),

UNHCR’s main policy document on education. The or-

ganization has education programmes in 97 countries,

with over 200 implementing partners, both local and

international NGOs, government departments and

selected UN agencies. UNHCR defines a child as some-

one below the age of 18 and prioritizes access to qual-

ity primary education with emphasis on girls’ educa-

1010

tion. A scholarship programme provides tertiary educa-

tion through funding from BMZ Germany (DAFI), with

a few scholarship opportunities for secondary educa-

tion. Although UNHCR’s policy commitments cover the

entire cycle of education, from early childhood to adult

education, limited resources in terms of staffing and

funding forces the agency to focus on primary educa-

tion and some limited support to non-formal activities,

including vocational and skills training. Despite all the

declarations and commitments, the education sector

regularly suffers when it comes to the allocation of

funds as it is not regarded as a life-saving activity in an

emergency context. Moreover, donors see education

more as a developmental activity with funding coming

from development sources rather than from humanitar-

ian funds. In order to redress existing gaps, UNHCR

has recently embarked on a partnership initiative, the

Education Forum, that evolved in 2004 into the Inno-

vative Strategic Partnerships In Refugee Education

(INSPIRE) project. INSPIRE aims to improve coordina-

tion efforts at the operational level, increasing resource

mobilization and organizing joint planning and imple-

mentation. INSPIRE is presently piloted in East and

West Africa in the context of repatriation and reintegra-

tion in Liberia and South Sudan, with Afghanistan and

Colombia targeted in 2005.

UNHCR’s major constraints are the current lack of pro-

fessional staff, a generally low profile of education in-

house, not regarded as an integral part of the emer-

gency response, and the absence of sufficient funding

to implement its policies. The organization is commit-

ted to increasing access to primary education (up to

eight years of schooling) and achieving gender parity,

with assistance focused on camp populations. Support

to secondary and tertiary education is rather sporadic

and not seen as a priority by managers. Only limited

education assistance is received by the large number of

urban refugees as well as by refugees returning home.

The organization’s comparative advantage is an exten-

sive field presence, rapid deployment mechanisms,

good logistics and a large number of implementing

partners on the ground. UNHCR has emergency teams

ready to respond within hours to a crisis situation, but

these teams unfortunately do not include education ex-

perts. Education response is included in the responsi-

bilities of UNHCR’s Community Services Officers. In re-

cent years, NRC has maintained a roster of experts and

deployed a number of refugee education professionals

to UNHCR field operations. Within the UN family,

UNHCR is a member of the UNDG, plays an active role

in the CCA/UNDAF and Consolidated Appeals Process

(CAP), participates regularly in Joint Assessment Missions

(JAM) and is part of various working groups on educa-

tion. Its major partners alongside NGOs are UNICEF,

UNESCO and WFP. UNHCR helped to create the Ref-

ugee Education Trust (RET) with the mandate for post-

primary education and is on the Steering Committee of

the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies

(INEE). Building and strengthening partnerships with all

stakeholders in refugee education with emphasis on

refugee communities and national governments or tran-

sitional authorities is one of UNHCR’s major objectives

in the planning for 2005 and beyond.

United Nations Children’s Fund –

giving children a voice

The organization aims at to influence global strategies

in areas within its mandate for children and, with a

strong and active field presence, it also aims to shape

national policy by advising and supporting governments

on national models for successful implementation.

UNICEF makes great efforts to have its strategic opera-

tions reflected in all relevant international and national

planning documents, such as CCA/UNDAFs, PRSPs and

corresponding poverty reduction and development plans.

UNICEF’s core corporate commitments are in the areas

of humanitarian policy, global advocacy for child rights,

rapid assessment and planning, inter-agency coordina-

tion and programme commitments, including implemen-

1111

tation of MDGs and EFA. In its Medium Term Strategic

Plan (MTSP), UNICEF`’s five priorities concern EFA, in

the field of girls’ education and early childhood devel-

opment (ECD). Its “25 by 2005” initiative, an accelera-

tion strategy targeting 25 countries most at risk of not

meeting the gender parity goal by 2005, was launched

in 2002.

UNICEF focuses especially on early childhood and pri-

mary schooling, but may also support secondary edu-

cation, education for out-of-school adolescents and for

women, in accordance with local circumstances.

In post-conflict situations, UNICEF’s “Back-to-School”

campaigns have become a key component of its emer-

gency relief programmes, most recently in Angola,

Afghanistan and Liberia. The focus is on returnee situa-

tions with large displaced population groups, refugees

and IDPs, returning home. Teachers are trained or re-

trained under the programme, school supplies pro-

vided, and classroom activities started as part of the

reintegration process. UNICEF is very often the first

agency that governments call upon to provide educa-

tion assistance in post-crisis situations and is frequently

designated by the UN and line ministries as the lead

agency for water and sanitation, and also for primary

education such as that in Afghanistan. Here, UNICEF

is also leading the effort on mine-risk education and

has trained 25,000 teachers. At the same time, the or-

ganization is engaged in demobilization and reintegra-

tion activities for former child soldiers and has well-

developed projects for early childhood education.

UNICEF and UNHCR have signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU) to increase cooperation in the

provision of education services to refugees, among

others. This MOU from 1996 is presently being re-

viewed and supplemented by a number of country-

based cooperation agreements.

UNICEF’s strategic advantage is its proximity to na-

tional governments as a development organization, a

strong and de-centralized field presence, and a solid

funding base. UNHCR recognizes the lead role of

UNICEF for primary education in the context of re-

turnee situations in accordance with its overall protec-

tion and assistance mandate for children.

United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural

Organization – leading education for all

The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO) is the only intergovernmental

organization in the UN system with specialized compe-

tence in education, as its acronym conveys. There are

six specialized UNESCO institutes in the field of educa-

tion based in Paris, Hamburg, Bonn, Montreal and

Geneva. UNESCO is leading the international effort to

implement EFA goals at national level within the Dakar

framework, and regularly submits Global Monitoring

Reports (GMRs) through its Division of International

Coordination and Monitoring of Education for All

(ED/EFA), Education Sector. It is split into two teams:

a Coordination Team and a Monitoring Report Team.

Alongside the implementation of EFA, UNESCO plays

an acknowledged role in education quality issues, and

the most recent GMR for 2005 highlights the continuing

gap between international commitments and their prac-

tical fulfillment. The Division for the Promotion of

Quality Education includes a Section for Peace and

Human Rights and a small Unit for Emergency Edu-

cation.

The core purpose of UNESCO’s education programmes

is to achieve EFA in the broadest sense: education for

all, at all levels, throughout life. The organization is

also leading the international effort to support the

UN Literacy Decade (2003-2012) and the UN Decade

of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014).

In its Medium Term Strategy (2002-2007), UNESCO has

laid down three major strategic objectives, e.g. to pro-

mote education as a fundamental human right, to im-

prove the quality of education, and to stimulate experi-

12

mentation, innovation and policy dialogue. The agency’s

five principal functions are seen as: laboratory of ideas

(1), standard-setter (2), clearing house (3), capacity

builder (4) and catalyst for international cooperation

(5). UNESCO’s programme focus is on: creating a good

learning environment, lobbying for and advocating ed-

ucation, defining strategies and goals as the UN spe-

cialized agency on education, reaching out and net-

working with others, working at all levels to reach

every age group, from early childhood to adulthood,

and working in partnership.

UNESCO’s Emergency, Crisis and Reconstruction

Support Unit within its Division of Policies and Strate-

gies, assists partner countries in institutional develop-

ment and capacity building, basic education, secondary

and higher education, teacher training, technical and

vocational training, promotion of non-formal education

for conflict- and disaster-affected populations, enhance-

ment of preparedness and conflict prevention, and the

development of a stand-by capacity for educational

reconstruction. UNESCO’s Field Offices Network of

Emergency Education (OFNET) is part of the Initiative

on Education in Situations of Emergency and Crisis.

UNESCO has published a list of “Focal Points” for

emergency education by region and country.

Unfortunately, it remains the case that UNESCO is

severely under-resourced and under-financed for the

role it has been asked to play in education. This is

in sharp contrast to the expectation that UNESCO

should play the role of lead agency and coordination

body. Limited resources and a rather insufficient field

presence naturally impact negatively on its capacity of

action. UNESCO tends to work “upstream” on policy

development and system building, particularly with

government ministries of education, finance and plan-

ning. It is seeking funding for earmarked activities

within its broader mandate for education, science

and culture, but is trying to increase the level of extra-

bud-getary funding to support education in emergen-

cies.

Despite this funding problem, UNESCO has played a

pro-active role in the Great Lakes region in East Africa

through its Programme for Education for Emergencies

and Reconstruction (PEER), currently based in Nairobi,

Kenya, piloting innovative strategies to address educa-

tional issues in areas of conflict, notably the Teacher

Emergency Package (TEP) and refugee environmental

education. The UNESCO Institute of Statistics in Montreal

compiles national government statistics, thus assisting

ED/EFA with global monitoring of progress towards

EFA. In addition, the UNESCO International Institute

for Educational Planning (IIEP) in Paris produces case

studies to document lessons learned related to plan-

ning and management of education in emergencies

and post-conflict reconstruction. Finally, the UNESCO

International Bureau of Education (IBE) in Geneva

has undertaken studies on curriculum change and

social cohesion in specific conflict-affected societies.

UNESCO is presently housing the INEE Secretariat in

Paris and regularly organizes international conferences

on education.

World Food Programme – food for education

The World Food Programme (WFP), has for the last

40 years been the largest provider of school-feeding

programmes, as providing food to children at school

is regarded as an important incentive in fostering en-

rollment. WFP’s Global School Feeding Campaign is

therefore seen as an important contribution towards

EFA. However, it must be noted that these programmes

only reach less than 3 percent out of a total number

of almost 600 million school-age children in the devel-

oping world (in 1999).

Providing food for school meals and food-for-work

for activities such as teaching, attending teacher train-

ing sessions, rehabilitation and construction of schools

and classrooms, participation in adult education, liter-

acy classes, etc. has helped to increase access and

keep girls in schools.

13

UNHCR and WFP, close partners in refugee operations,

revised their MOU in 2002 and renewed their commit-

ment to joint action in the areas of refugee registration

and verification, joint needs assessments, nutrition,

HIV/AIDS prevention and supporting durable solutions

through programming food and non-food aid to assist

asset-building, training, income-generation and other

self-reliance activities. Under the UNESCO-WFP Co-

operative Programme, the two organizations work to-

gether to promote EFA, including in situations of emer-

gency and recovery. School-feeding projects have al-

ways been the cornerstone of WFP interventions in

education. While it is said to be an effective incentive

for poor families to send and keep their children in

school, feeding programmes have also come repeat-

edly under attack. However, WFP’s role will continue

in both emergency and post-conflict situations until

such time that communities are regarded as being

self-reliant.

World Bank – education as a tool

for poverty reduction

The World Bank (WB), in its submission to the Devel-

opment Committee in 2001 and 2002, initiated what

is most commonly called the Fast Track Initiative (FTI),

now referred to as EFA-FTI. As co-convener of the

World Conference on Education for All in Jomtien in

1990, and the World Education Forum, in Dakar in

2000, the WB has centered its education strategy on

EFA goals. Having pledged to be an active partner and

to take up the challenges posed by the Millennium

Declaration, it pursues the goal of Universal Primary

Education (UPE). In so doing it follows the logic of the

Comprehensive Development Framework and the PRSP

approach which center action on concern for true

ownership, partnership and inclusion of civil society.

According to its Education Sector Strategy, WB has

concentrated on yielding results in basic education

and education for girls with due regard to quality and

learning outcomes which are recognized as core ele-

ments. FTI received broad international backing,

notably from the Development Committee and the

G8 in 2002 and was consequently launched that

year. Focusing on UPE, which it intends to accele-

rate, the WB also advances three other Dakar goals,

namely gender equality, adult literacy and education

quality.

For the initial FTI phase, countries with a population of

more than a million had to fulfill two transparent eligi-

bility criteria: they must have a full government-owned,

poverty-focused and approved national poverty reduction

strategy, emanating from a national consultative process

that includes civil society, guaranteeing Government

commitment to education financing in an overall

medium-term expenditure, and a credible, sector-wide

plan for education. For FTI endorsement the primary

education component of the education-sector plan is

judged against assessment guidelines and benchmarks

of the indicative framework such as resource mobiliza-

tion, student flows, service delivery and construction

cost per primary school classroom. 18 countries with

an out-of-school population of 17 million were invited

to participate in the pilot phase and were later joined

by another five countries (Bangladesh, DRC, India,

Pakistan and Nigeria).

Led by WB, FTI also involves the European Commission

(EC), UNESCO, UNICEF, the multilateral development

banks and all the major bilateral donor agencies. But

strong criticism has been aired, mainly pertaining to

concentrating efforts only on primary education, thus

neglecting the broader EFA agenda, including gender;

the choice of the countries made, as only six belong to

the group of 28 countries identified as being countries

at risk; and the fact that the initiative puts too much

emphasis on the speed and the extent of domestic pol-

icy reform. The WB as a key actor is also perceived as

being too dominant and not trying sufficiently hard to

consult and seek advice from other partners, in particu-

lar from the UN, in areas of their respective strengths,

demonstrated knowledge and expertise.

14

The Education Program Development Fund (EPDF) is

a new multi-donor trust fund that intends to enable

more countries to access the FTI and its support mech-

anisms. EPDF will support countries in the preparation

of sound and sustainable education policies, strategies

and plans, and to manage the implementation process

by supporting knowledge generation through better

monitoring and evaluation, and knowledge sharing

across countries.

The WB, being the lead agency assisting national gov-

ernments on the implementation of EFA in the frame-

work of PRSPs and sector-wide approaches (SWAps), is

an important player when it comes to placing refugees

and displaced populations on national agendas and in-

cluding them as some of the most vulnerable groups in

national development programmes. This is an area which

needs to be more systematically addressed and educa-

tion opportunities explored through closer cooperation.

The role of the WB in post-conflict reconstruction is

being defined in its framework for supporting transi-

tions from conflict and includes rebuilding and main-

taining key social infrastructure in education and

health. Therefore, much of the Bank’s work has been

in rebuilding physical infrastructure under guidelines

for emergency lending. Recent responses have also in-

cluded financial support to basic education projects for

refugees, e.g. Afghan refugees in Pakistan, under the

Post-Conflict Fund (PCF), a grant facility set up in 1997.

The Bank has also played an important role in shaping

multi-donor investments in demobilization and reinte-

gration in Uganda, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Cambodia

and Sierra Leone, but direct involvement in reintegration

of displaced populations has been relatively limited.

The Education for the Knowledge Economy (EKE)

represents another central thrust of the organization’s

support for education next alongside EFA so as to

equip countries with the highly skilled and flexible

human capital needed to develop and manage educa-

tion systems. The conceptual framework for analyzing

EKE is being further developed at the moment by

the WB Institute and has produced some important an-

alytical work on new challenges for tertiary education,

strategic approaches to science and technology and

lifelong learning.

International Labour Organization – education

for employment and self-reliance

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the

UN organization with global responsibility for work,

employment and labour market issues, and its mission

is to promote opportunities for men and women every-

where to obtain decent and productive work in condi-

tions of freedom, equity, security and dignity. The link

between poverty and emergencies and the need for

a focus on development from the start are at the very

core of the ILO’s mandate, culture, experience and

strategy for intervention.

ILO developed an In Focus Programme on Crisis

Response and Reconstruction (IFP/CRISIS) in 1999 to

promote socio-economic reintegration and poverty

alleviation for crisis-affected groups – women and men

– through employment-intensive investment program-

mes, skills training, retraining, small enterprise devel-

opment, local economic development, social dialogue,

social safety nets, and protection and mobilization of

an increased volume of resources for such interven-

tions. IFP/CRISIS therefore is a programme that brings

the ILO’s basic values, principles and development

concerns to bear in the crisis context and advocates

the interests of crisis-affected people to the interna-

tional community in partnership with its constituents

and other UN system agencies.

Furthermore, ILO’s International Programme on the

Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) recognizes that

mainstreaming children into formal education systems

remains important as this allows them to withdraw

permanently from work. Child labour is a key obstacle

15

to EFA since children who are working full-time cannot

attend school and, for those who combine school and

work, their educational achievement is affected and

their tendency to drop out of school is probably very

high. The majority of out-of-school children worldwide

are girls, and efforts to increase girls’ education must

therefore go hand in hand with efforts to progressively

eliminate child labour.

Several post-crisis technical assistance programmes have

been undertaken by IFP/CRISIS, including employment

recovery in the aftermath of the floods in Mozambique,

reintegration of demobilized soldiers, notably child sol-

diers, in countries of the Great Lakes region, an “employ-

ment for peace” programme in Sierra Leone, assistance

to UNMIK in Kosovo, an integrated area-based local eco-

nomic and social development programme in the Preservo

Valley in Serbia, and a current employment generation

and skills development programme in Afghanistan.

ILO has Area Offices in 40 countries and an established

Crisis Focal Points Network for its integrated response

work and is an active participant in the UN Disaster

Management Teams (where they already exist). ILO

contributes to the 30 organization-strong Conflict Pre-

vention and Post-Conflict Rehabilitation (CPR) network,

is a member of UNDG and the Economic Commission

for Humanitarian Affairs (ECHA), but is currently not

a fully fledged member of the Inter-Agency Standing

Committee (IASC).

ILO has in recent years increased its cooperation with

other UN agencies like UNHCR, UNICEF and UNESCO.

UNHCR and ILO work together in the framework of

finding durable solutions for refugees in care and

maintenance and returnee situations. The partnership

has been piloted in a number of countries, more no-

tably in what has become known as the Zambia Initia-

tive, and led to a MOU signed in 2004.

The challenge, however, remains for ILO to increase

and improve its cooperation with partners by working

in a close, interactive way, sharing and transferring

knowledge and experience with emphasis on liveli-

hood development and employment skills, including

micro-financing and income-generation. ILO is a well

placed partner in education for other agencies in en-

suring that employment opportunities are generated

during and after displacement as all education support

to displaced populations aims at achieving sustainable

livelihoods and self-reliance.

World Health Organization – health action in crises

The World Health Organization (WHO) has a disaster

preparedness and response programme, implemented

through its regional offices. In Europe, the secretariat

is based at the WHO/Europe office in Copenhagen,

Denmark, trying to ensure that Member States are

equipped to prevent and prepare for disasters and to

mitigate their health consequences. In Geneva, WHO

has established a Health Action in Crises department to

reduce the avoidable burden of disease and disability

in crises in an indicative list of 45 crisis-prone and

crisis-affected countries around the world. Key policy

documents do not include basic education, and health

education is mentioned as a cross-cutting training issue

rather than a programme response. Documents re-

viewed make no specific reference to refugees and

displaced populations except in the definition of emer-

gencies and crises when WHO states that crises can be

triggered by complex and continuing emergencies –

including violent conflicts with “associated displace-

ment” (see WHO website, health action in crises).

WHO has recently launched a three-year programme

to strengthen the organizational capacities for health

action in crises.

The Department of Child and Adolescent Health and

Development (CAH), however, includes “education and

access to appropriate information” (see WHO website,

Child and Adolescents Rights) in its list of eight funda-

mental child needs and rights, regarded as necessary

16

prerequisites in order to fulfill and protect the human

right of access to health and health services.

National governments – responsible

for education services

National governments are ultimately responsible for

providing quality education to their citizens in achiev-

ing the MDG and EFA goals to which they have sub-

scribed. Ministries of Education and de-centralized edu-

cation offices at provincial, district and community

level are government partners responsible for the devel-

opment and implementation of national education poli-

cies, strategies and resulting programmes as well as

monitoring adherence to MDG and EFA goals at all levels.

There appears to be a growing awareness that the co-

ordination role of national, or host, governments as

primary stakeholders should be strengthened and en-

hanced. Supporters argue that any emergency education

programme must acknowledge this lead role of national

governments and therefore incorporate capacity building

measures into these programmes. However, this goal is

more often than not complicated by the fact that the

government’s focal point for education may not neces-

sarily be the Ministry of Education. In refugee situations,

where coordination is normally led by UNHCR and the

host government, the education ministry may not be

involved at all or only play a secondary role.

During the transition from open conflict to a negotiated

peace and post-conflict development, transitional au-

thorities are usually in charge of education, assisted by

the international community through a series of need

assessments, planning processes and implementation of

assistance programmes. In such return and reintegration

scenarios, when large numbers of displaced people

from within a country or across borders return home,

rejoining portions of communities they had left behind,

governments and transitional authorities need to be en-

abled to rebuild the education system. This involves

strategies and programmes to strengthen and build na-

tional and local capacity to manage and oversee edu-

cation. Support mechanisms at national level vary from

the humanitarian Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP),

Joint Assessment Missions (JAM), Post-Conflict Needs

Assessments (PCNA) and the preparation of Country

Assistance Strategies (CAS) to Poverty Reduction Stra-

tegy Papers (PRSP). Within the UN family, the Common

Country Assessment (CCA) is a useful tool in the context

of the United Nations Development Assistance Frame-

work (UNDAF) process. National governments are ex-

pected to fully participate or even lead these different

humanitarian or development planning processes.

Education as a sector strategy and as part of social

services is included, but unfortunately, refugee needs

are usually not adequately addressed and targeted in

national assistance strategies and thus their support is

delegated back to the international community, led by

UNHCR. When refugees return home following peace

agreements, national support structures are either non-

existent or insufficient to provide the necessary assis-

tance, thus leaving the enormous task of reintegration

to the international community. This includes, of

course, the provision of quality education to refugees,

internally displaced persons and returnees.

Refugees and displaced persons – empowering

communities

Communities experiencing crisis commonly call for the

provision of education as a top assistance priority,

as recent examples in Afghanistan, Liberia and South

Sudan clearly demonstrate. Children and parents both

believe there is urgency in continuing schooling, but

when an emergency interrupts local education efforts,

already under-resourced communities can rarely cope.

Although communities often establish some kind of ed-

ucation on a small scale and in a self-help context,

they often struggle to maintain or enhance those efforts

without any outside assistance. When children them-

selves prioritize education as a part of the emergency

17

assistance, it becomes a powerful reason for including

them in a response. Article 12 of the CRC guarantees a

child’s right to participation – including the right to

freedom of expression and to express their views on

all matters affecting them.

Increased community involvement is now internation-

ally recognized as an important tool for improving the

quality of education in all contexts, and therefore also

in emergencies. Community Education Committees

(CECs), School Management Committees (SMCs), Village

Education Committees (VECs) and Parent Teacher

Associations (PTAs) have become important avenues

in helping to build the roles of the community as part-

ners in rather than recipients of education assistance.

When they work well, school committees therefore

represent a valuable interface between the school and

community. They can help to empower communities

in situations of dependency on aid, facilitate psycho-

social healing processes, develop practical skills in key

community members who will play a role in rebuilding

social structures, ensure that education provision re-

sponds to the real needs of children in a context of

rapid change, and establish participatory structures

needed for transition from emergency education to

long-term sustainable education.

The active involvement of communities also helps

to create a sense of ownership of their children’s edu-

cation, assists in monitoring learning outcomes and

school performance, enables the follow up of school

drop-outs and encourages families to send their girls to

school and give appropriate support at home. Respon-

sibilities of school committees range from involvement

in planning, resource identification, mobilization and

allocation, to improving what happens at school, and

ensuring accountability. Achieving this level of partici-

pation and partnership is challenging and probably

daunting to those involved in the process, but there

are a number of encouraging examples and good prac-

tices, with some of them documented in the case stud-

ies from Rwanda and Pakistan. In conclusion, educa-

tion programmes in situations of conflict, insecurity

and instability are increasingly using a community-based

participatory approach, with emphasis on capacity-

building and self-management. The empowerment of

refugee and displaced communities is therefore central

to achieving sustainability of education interventions.

NGOs – providing education services

The work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

is another central element of the humanitarian service

delivery system. Without NGOs, humanitarian assis-

tance, including assistance to refugees and displaced

persons, would be simply unthinkable. The NGO play-

ing field is large and the variety of institutional struc-

tures, capacities and mandates of NGOs is so broad

that it is difficult to adequately categorize those in-

volved in education in emergencies, including educa-

tion for displaced populations.

The primary distinction among NGOs is between inter-

national and national NGOs. The dominant international

NGOs in education during emergencies and reconstruc-

tion may be present in situations across the world. They

are, among others, the International Rescue Committee

(IRC), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), members of

CARE International and the International Save the Child-

ren Alliance (SCF), Academy for Educational Develop-

ment (AED) and Creative Associates International.

Others that have been involved in education sector

work include some faith-based organizations such as

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), Catholic Relief Services

(CRS), Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Christian

Children’s Fund (CCF), Norwegian Church Aid (NCA),

Aga Khan Foundation, some Muslim NGOs and various

national Red Crescent societies. Yet another type of

NGO are those with a particular specialization, such as

the Refugee Education Trust (RET), World University

Service (WUS), Windle Trust, also known after its

founder as the Hugh Pilkington Chari-table Trust

(HPCT), the Commonwealth of Learning and others.

18

Typically overshadowed by international NGOs with

comparatively high budgets, agendas and responsibili-

ties are national NGOs as part of the civil society of

their country. It is their role to complement the work

of their national governments. Working with interna-

tional organizations should enable them to build their

own capacity in order to take over education work

once the international community ceases its own assis-

tance. Thus, efforts in the education sector may move

from relief to development and become sustainable

with the help of national NGOs. The recent example

from Pakistan, where a refugee education project was

transformed into an independent local organization

(see Part 2), is a step in the right direction.

UN agencies usually work in close partnership with

NGOs and delegate the implementation of projects and

programmes to these partners. UNHCR alone chan-

neled some US$ 340 million – one third of its annual

budget – in 2003 to over 600 NGOs worldwide, assist-

ing the organization in achieving its core priorities of

advocacy, providing assistance and protection and

finding durable solutions. Ten percent was channeled

to partner NGOs in education. The number of UNHCR’s

local implementing partners (IP) has been rising steadily

in recent years in order to promote, use and build

local capacities and expertise. In the education sector,

UNHCR worked in partnership with 91 international

and 136 local NGOs in 2003. NGOs increasingly bring

their own resources and expertise into education

programmes and are becoming more and more impor-

tant as operational and strategic partners. Major NGOs

(NRC, IRC, LWF, JRS) are represented on the Reference

Group of the Education Forum/INSPIRE Initiative,

launched in 2004 by UNHCR and work closely together

in the INEE network. Some of them are characterized

in brief below:

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) works closely

with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA)

and the Norwegian International Development Agency

(NORAD). NRC has extensive experience of working in

various phases and circumstances of international

refugee protection and assistance. The organization

frequently enters into partnership with agencies in the

field and has more than 900 employees in 20 coun-

tries. NRC has over the years increased its activities in

all core areas related to emergencies and crisis, e.g.

shelter, education, distribution of food and non-food

items, counselling and legal assistance, as well as ad-

vocacy work. Basic education for children and young

people is one of NRC’s four core activities. In addition

to its own international staff NRC operates Norwegian

and African Standby Forces. These forces include some

400 persons within 30 professional categories, includ-

ing specialists in education. They are trained and pre-

pared for emergencies and may be deployed within

72 hours. Since the establishment of the emergency

preparedness force in 1991, more than 3000 persons

have participated in operations in more than 50 coun-

tries throughout the world. NRC has entered working

agreements with UNHCR, WFP, UNDP, UNICEF, UN-

ESCO, WHO, IOM, OCHA and OSCE. The “stand-by”

agreement with UNHCR on the deployment of educa-

tion experts was signed in 2001. This cooperation will

be jointly evaluated in early 2005. NRC is also a mem-

ber of the INEE Steering Committee and has deployed

an educationist to support its secretariat in Paris. The

organization has active basic education programmes in

Angola, Burundi, Sierra Leone, DR Congo and Pakistan

and implements human rights education in Armenia,

Georgia and Azerbaijan. In some countries, NRC is

both an implementing partner of a UN agency and at

the same time an independent actor running the same

type of education programme, in this way strengthening

the total effort. “Catch-up” programmes address the ed-

ucation needs of 10 to 13 year olds who have lost out

on schooling either totally or in part, and who are in

an age group more vulnerable to recruitment or abduc-

tion to armed service. The aim is to provide intensive

learning opportunities to enable these children to re-

enter mainstream schools, thus “building bridges” back

to formal schools. Another programme addresses the

seriously under-served group of illiterate youth aged 14

19

to 18, or older, through one-year “youth packs”, pro-

viding literacy, life skills and skills training. A third

NRC response tool are the Accelerated Learning Pro-

grammes (ALP), defined as a three-year programme

compressing six years of primary schooling. The Sierra

Leone ALP model – Complementary Rapid Education

for Primary Schools (CREPS) was developed jointly

with UNICEF and the MOE. NRC calls ALP a “stop-gap

measure”, not viable as a permanent or development

education mechanism.

The Save The Children Alliance comprises national Save

The Children Funds (SCF) in 27 states. SCF is basing

its education work on the five key issues of the impor-

tance of early years or pre-school informal education

as a way of increasing confidence and developing skills,

the quality of children’s school experience, providing

education for all children, including those that may

normally not have opportunities to go to school, for

example because they are disabled, female or because

they are from ethnic minority groups, persuading

donors to fund sustainable approaches to education

and the education of children in emergency situations.

In regard to the latter, SCF-UK published an “Edu-

cation in Emergencies Tool Kit” in 2003. In an emer-

gency, SCF tends to specialize in health, education,

child protection, including tracing families of separated

children, and emergency relief such as providing food,

shelter and clothes. National SCFs work all over the

world and are represented on the INEE Steering Com-

mittee. Their Global Impact Report 2004 mentions

SCF’s five dimensions of intended change, referring to

changes in the lives of children and young people (1),

in policies and practices (2), in children’s and young

people’s participation and active citizenship (3), in

equity and non-discrimination (4) and in civil society/

communities’ capacity to support children’s and young

people’s rights (5). Impact is highlighted by a number

of working examples and includes basic education

without particular reference to refugees or internally

displaced persons as a special target group. The Alli-

ance has decided on a 5-year plan, starting in 2005,

and focusing on Education for Children affected by

Conflict.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC), based

in the US, has developed effective, targeted and rapidly

deployable programmes to meet urgent and special

needs of children affected by armed conflict in emer-

gencies and during post-war recovery. These include:

emergency and formal education, interim care and

family tracing for separated children, care, family reuni-

fication and community reintegration for former child

soldiers and psychosocial and vocational assistance for

war-affected adolescents. The IRC’s Program for Child-

ren Affected by Armed Conflict was founded in 1997

to respond to urgent psychological and social needs of

war-affected children and youth. The larger and better

known education programmes are in Sierra Leone,

Guinea, Liberia, Azerbaijan, Uganda, Afghanistan and

Pakistan. IRC works closely with other partners through

the INEE and is a member of the Education Forum/

INSPIRE initiative.

In 2002, UNHCR created the Refugee Education Trust

(RET) on the initiative of the former High Commissioner,

Sadako Ogata, in order to mobilize funds to support

post-primary education. Since then, RET has registered

itself as an NGO in Switzerland, organized a well-at-

tended international forum on post-primary education

in 2002, has established offices in Tanzania (2002),

Pakistan (2003) and Kenya (2004) and is presently fund-

ing some small-scale education activities in a number

of countries. The organization is still in the process of

establishing itself as a major service provider and con-

sults closely with UNHCR under an MOU signed in 2003.

RET is also a member of the INSPIRE Reference Group

and the INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards.

Other stakeholders

Other stakeholders include the donor community,

which has shown increasing interest in education for

20

conflict-affected populations. Many donors, however,

have separate sections concerned with humanitarian

and development assistance, and do not include edu-

cation in the former category. This bureaucratic divi-

sion is one of the main obstacles to donor funding for

education in emergencies. In broader terms, education

is not regarded as a major pillar of emergency aid, al-

though complex humanitarian emergency may last for

years or even decades. In the case of refugees, UNHCR

talks about protracted care and maintenance situations.

In general, bilateral and multilateral funding of educa-

tion for refugees and displaced populations remains in-

sufficient as stated in the UN Joint Inspection Team re-

port from 2003 on “Achieving the Universal Primary

Education Goal of the Millennium Declaration”: “The

gap between rhetoric and reality in support for educa-

tion seems to persist … Analysis of the most recent

data shows that overall support from both multilateral

and bilateral agencies has been declining in recent

years” (p. 30). Against this sobering background, it is

important to continue raising the profile of education for

displaced populations as an investment in their future

as productive citizens, end the artificial relief-develop-

ment dichotomy, and increase funding from both hu-

manitarian and development budgets. There are some

encouraging signs from major bilateral donors such as

the Norwegians, British, Swedish, US and European

Union suggesting a shift from reticence and even resist-

ance to more direct support of education during emer-

gencies.

The private sector and the business community are

increasingly playing an acknowledged role in the eco-

nomic health and wealth of countries and are therefore

important partners. In times of emergencies, their con-

tributions are enormous, but usually directed to provid-

ing food, shelter, water and medicines to conflict-af-

fected populations. This includes major trust funds set

up by wealthy individuals such as Bill Gates, George

Soros, the Hilton family, and many others. Only re-

cently have UNHCR and others started to partner the

private sector on education activities for refugees.

Thus, Microsoft supports Computer Technology

Learning Centers and Nike funds Girls Empowerment

through sports and education projects. Fundraising and

resource mobilization with private companies clearly

has a future and opportunities need to be explored

more systematically.

Among the UN agencies not mentioned above, but

with programmes related to basic education, are the

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

(OHCHR), the agency with principal responsibility for

UN human rights activities. Specific responsibilities in-

clude, inter alia, the coordination of UN education and

public information programmes. Therefore, OCHCR is

the UN “watchdog” when it comes to raising regarding

human rights violations in the field of basic education,

such as sexual harassment and exploitation of girls at

school, forced military recruitment of young boys, and,

more generally, lack of access to education as a basic

human right.

Other UN agencies, with no direct education mandate,

but with sensitization, awareness and advocacy pro-

grammes in their respective field of specialization in-

clude the United Nations Development Programme

(UNDP), which suspended education programmes fol-

lowing a policy decision in the 1990s, the United

Nations Population Fund (UNPF), the UN Develop-

ment Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Nations

Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNAIDS .

There is also the group of network partners, with the

Inter-Agency Network on Emergency Education

(INEE), convened by UNHCR, UNICEF, UNESCO and

NGOs in November 2000, being the most prominent

one dealing with education. Having been created

as a network, INEE is not an operational agency but

regards itself as an umbrella body to improve commu-

nication and cooperation in educational responses,

sharing knowledge and experiences, making teaching

and learning resources widely available, and document

and disseminate best practices in the field. INEE is fa-

21

cilitating a consultative process designed to lead to

minimum standards and guidelines for emergency

education, similar to those prepared for humanitarian

response in other sectors (Sphere Project, 2000).

INEE may also give its endorsement to materials pro-

duced by members, and has already endorsed generic

materials for peace education in emergencies and re-

construction, jointly developed by UNESCO and

UNHCR. INEE keeps members up-to-date through its

list server and has a website containing suggestions for

good practice. The last consultations were held in

December 2004 in Cape Town. INEE is also supporting

the Education Forum/INSPIRE initiative and is repre-

sented on the global Reference Group. A coordinator,

based at UNESCO offices in Paris, is co-funded by

CARE and the Mellon Foundation. One of INEE’s major

achievements is the handbook on Minimum Standards

for Education in Emergencies (MSEE), developed

through a broad process of collaboration and based on

the recognition that education cannot remain outside

the mainstream humanitarian debate but must be seen

as a priority humanitarian response. Participants at the

December 2004 Global Consultation on Education in

Emergencies in Cape Town celebrated the launching

of MSEE and the development of a Teacher Training

Resource Kit, distributed on a CD-ROM. INEE’s lead

coordination and advocacy role was re-confirmed,

but the challenges remain enormous in view of inter-

agency cooperation, involvement of governments,

donor reluctance and funding gaps. However, Cape

Town brought a new impetus for networking and

partnership development among education agencies.

The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative

(UNGEI) was launched in April 2000 at the Dakar World

Education Forum by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to

promote gender equality with targeted action for girls’

education as an entry point. 13 UN organizations, led

by UNICEF, agreed to work together on this 10-year

initiative to help governments meet their commitments

to ensure quality education for all girls everywhere.

By 2002, all participating agencies had succeeded in

mainstreaming girls’ education within their organiza-

tional mechanisms and structures. Girls’ education is

now at the forefront of political and programming

priorities at the headquarters level, and agencies con-

tinue the implementation process “on the ground”.

UNGEI has developed a Guidance Note to UN Country

Teams in 2002, addressing the importance of including

girls’ education in national education plans, as well as

a Technical Booklet on Working for Gender Equality in

Education. UNGEI-NGO consultations were held in

June 2002 with support from ILO and DFID. UNGEI’s

work is based on the UN Convention on the Rights of

the Child and the UN Convention on the Elimination of

All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women

and Children (WCRWC) was founded in 1989 as an

independent affiliate of the International Rescue Com-

mittee to improve the lives and defend the rights of

refugees and internally displaced women, children and

adolescents. One of the Commission’s projects was a

Global Survey on Education in Emergencies, published

in February 2004. This global review includes reports

from 11 countries in Africa and Asia with education

programmes. WCRWC runs the Children and Adoles-

cents Project, but the Commission is seen more as a

body to oversee and monitor the implementation of

policies and strategies referring to refugee women and

children than as an operational agency.

The Conflict Prevention and Post-Conflict Recon-

struction (CPR) Peace-building Network came to-

gether as a result of meetings initiated by the USAID-

Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) in 1997 and the

World Bank in 1998 to better coordinate peace-building

efforts. Since then members have been meeting every

six months. The network brings together 30 organizations

operationally active in conflict prevention and maintains

an operational focus extending from the principles laid

out by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC)

Task Force on Conflict, Peace and Development

Cooperation as well as UN Executive Committees.

22

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC),

established in June 1992, serves as the primary

mechanism for inter-agency coordination relating

to humanitarian assistance in response to complex

and major emergencies under the leadership of the

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator. Through an articu-

late mechanism of working groups and sub-working

groups, the IASC is in fact the main policy-making

mechanism of the humanitarian community. It is a

headquarter-based mechanism, and even though the

Working Group (WG) debates country or operational

issues, it does so not with the view of taking opera-

tional decisions to be implemented, but rather to pro-

vide policy guidance to the Resident/Humanitarian

Coordinator and to the UN Country Team (UNCT).

Although the IASC WG has not been debating basic

education as a separate issue during their task force,

reference group or sub-working group meetings, a

number of policy statements referring to education

as the fourth or fifth pillar of humanitarian assistance

have been made.

1.4 Challenges for the future

The main challenges for the future can be broadly

summarized as follows:

– to ensure that education is fully recognized as a basic

human right and an important pillar of the humani-

tarian response in times of emergencies and crisis;

– to ensure that refugees and displaced populations

have equal access to basic education services pro-

vided by national governments and assisted by

the international community, and become part of

national planning in host countries and countries

of origin;

– to convince the donor community of the above

and ensure that adequate resources are mobilized

to achieve the common goals of increased access,

improved quality and gender equality for refugees,

internally displaced and returnee populations.

In this context it is important to move away from the

concept of refugees and displaced populations being

first and foremost target groups for humanitarian inter-

ventions. Unrest and political instability, leading to

population movements in the first place, can take

longer than expected; peace agreements do not neces-

sarily lead to security and the resumption of normal

lives, and conflict may easily return even in times of

peace. Finding durable solutions for refugees and dis-

placed persons is at the heart of UNHCR’s mandate

and the challenge is how education can become a

valuable tool in achieving this goal.

The task is so enormous given the large numbers of

refugees and displaced populations in the world today

that no single organization can meet this challenge

alone. Building and strengthening partnerships in basic

education as well as increased coordination has be-

come a necessity rather than a luxury, and all efforts

geared at working together at all levels to improve

education services need to be encouraged and sup-

ported.

Finally, individuals and groups emerging from conflict

and crisis have special education needs and the inter-

national response needs to address these special needs

through tailor-made and targeted basic education pro-

grammes. The transformation process from crisis and

conflict to reconciliation and peaceful coexistence

needs to be accompanied by special life skills pro-

grammes such as peace education, environment edu-

cation, HIV/AIDS prevention, psycho-social support,

trauma healing and others aimed at providing coping

skills in times of emergencies but also in preparation

of return and reintegration.

Finding durable solutions for refugees

and displaced populations

In the terminology of UNHCR, there are three possible

durable solutions for refugees:

23

1. voluntary repatriation to the country of origin

and reintegration,

2. local settlement and integration in the host

country, and

3. resettlement in a third country.

Repatriation and reintegration is of course the pre-

ferred solution but in order to make it durable, a num-

ber of conditions need to be met. They are, among

others, security and political stability, allowing refugees

to return home, the rehabilitation and reconstruction

of social services, and economic opportunities and

prospects for sustainable livelihoods. Education is an

assistance sector well placed, both in care and mainte-

nance and in returnee situations, to provide protection,

skills and knowledge for refugees to become agents

of their own development and productive citizens. As

basic education refers to life-long learning processes,

starting in early childhood and including adult educa-

tion, therefore being a central element in a person’s

development, it is clearly well placed to link short-term

humanitarian and relief assistance to longer-term devel-

opment programmes. The challenge here is to bridge

the artificial gap, formerly described as a continuum,

and realize that basic education needs to be supported

right from the onset of an emergency, throughout

displacement and upon return home. To meet this

challenge, donor reluctance needs to be overcome

and adequate resources mobilized. All assistance pro-

grammes have to take into account the special circum-

stances of displaced populations and therefore it is

recommended to enrich both formal and non-formal

approaches with life skills development targeting their

specific situation, both in exile or at home. Many or-

ganizations have developed teaching and learning

materials on peace education, environment education,

conflict and crisis prevention, safety and health issues,

etc. There are a great number of good practices avail-

able, but unfortunately not known and not widely

disseminated among stakeholders. Learning from past

experiences to improve present and future interven-

tions in basic education therefore remains a central

task. Another challenge is to put education assistance

on national development agendas and ensure that this

sector is adequately represented in joint assessments

(JAMs, CCAs), joint appeals (CAPs) and sector-wide

approaches (SWAps) and poverty reduction plans

(PRSPs). Here, humanitarian organizations like UNHCR

need to link their education activities with national

governments and development organizations at all

stages and at all levels of planning and programming.

Building and strengthening partnerships

in basic education

Providing quality education to refugees and displaced

populations to achieve MDG and EFA goals requires

commitment and dedication from all stakeholders de-

scribed in chapter 1.3. Increased cooperation and coor-

dination needs to take into account existing mecha-

nisms, different mandates and programming cycles,

organization’s policy priorities and available resources,

both human and financial, the implementing capacity

and the field of specialization and proven expertise.

National governments as primary stakeholders need to

be supported in building up their own capacity to

manage and oversee education services, refugee and

displaced communities need to be trained in looking

after the education of their children, donors need to

be convinced that an investment in education is an in-

vestment in the future of a country, particularly in the

context of emergencies and crisis, the work of the

NGO community needs to be supported, with empha-

sis on local civil society organizations, and UN agen-

cies need to move towards improved coordination

according to their specialized mandates.

Partners usually fall into the four categories of

– implementing partners,

– operational partners,

– strategic partners and

– network and advocacy partners.

UN agencies and international NGOs work traditionally

24

with a large number of implementing partners who are

contracted and paid to implement projects and pro-

grammes on their behalf. UNHCR alone works in the

education sector with over 200 implementing partners

in 97 countries worldwide. The second group of oper-

ational partners refers to agencies who have commit-

ted themselves to working together in support of oper-

ations at the field level; these partnerships are usually

documented through binding agreements, like Memo-

randa of Understanding (MOU) or Letters of Intent

(LOI), targeting specific areas of cooperation or situa-

tions to be jointly addressed. In the education sector,

UNICEF and UNHCR, for example, have signed a num-

ber of cooperation agreements at headquarter and

country level in support of refugee education. A global

MOU dating back to 1996 is currently under revision.

Quite a number of UNHCR’s implementing partners

have in fact become operational partners by increasing

their own contributions, organizing joint trainings and

deciding together on education policies in emergen-

cies. The UNHCR initiated Education Forum/INSPIRE

initiative tries to pilot joint education activities; in 2004

the focus was on regional cooperation in West and

East Africa in support of repatriation of Sudanese and

Liberian refugees in the regions.

Thirdly, there is a group of strategic partners, mainly

oriented to joint assessments, planning and program-

ming, including joint monitoring and evaluation. At the

national level, governments, refugee communities and

local education authorities are naturally strategic part-

ners. These partnerships differ from situation to situa-

tion and have to be addressed in their country- and

region-specific context. The World Bank, coordinating

EFA-FTI and PRSPs, the United Nations Development

Fund (UNDP), coordinating the UNCTs and leading the

CCA/UNDAF process, UNICEF, with its mandate for

children’s education and accelerated strategy for girls’

education, and UNESCO, spearheading the EFA initia-

tive, all are important strategic partners assisting na-

tional governments to provide education to refugees

and internally displaced persons.

Finally, there is the group of network and advocacy

partners, including the INEE, based at UNESCO in

Paris, and working on the development on minimum

standards for education in emergencies. Others are the

multilateral financing institutions, including regional

development banks, and bilateral agencies who have

entered into bilateral agreements with national govern-

ments and can negotiate to include refugees, returnees

and internally displaced persons into funding propos-

als. Local NGOs, community-based organizations and

other civil society organizations can act as pressure

groups, advocating and lobbying for emergency

education, but they need outside support in their

efforts.

Emergency education is a newly emerging sector in the

international discussion and although partnership de-

velopment is one of the major commitments of all ag-

encies and stakeholders, more needs to be done to im-

prove coordination and cooperation in order to avoid

gaps and duplication and establish what Marc Sommers

calls in his study on Coordinating Education during

Emergencies and Reconstruction a “connective tissue

linking people … together” (p. 80). The author admits

that there have been successes and there is coordina-

tion, but “performance remains patchy” (p. 80). In gen-

eral, partnership opportunities are not systematically

explored and are rather sporadic and haphazard, de-

pending mainly on the goodwill of agency representa-

tives on the ground. The challenge is to overcome un-

derlying factors obstructing partnership development,

mainly those relating to power, trust, competition and

priorities, a resistance to cede authority to somebody

else, and a reluctance to give up control. Partnerships

therefore need to be built and developed on mutual

trust and respect, power-sharing arrangements, sover-

eignty and accountability, agreed upon division of

roles and responsibilities, and accepted leadership by

the national governments.

The challenge is to link humanitarian interventions in

education with medium- and longer-term development

25

assistance and to have refugees and returnee popula-

tions included in national education planning. However,

in order to meet this challenge, national ownership,

participatory approaches and increased in-country ca-

pacity-building at various levels have to be addressed.

Implementing more effective partnerships at the coun-

try level has to be a key consideration, with national

and transitional authorities leading this process to give

real meaning to the “ownership” concept. For the lead

agency for refugees, UNHCR, the challenge is to work

closer with Ministries of Education and relevant educa-

tion authorities at district and village level, to be in-

formed about national education planning and to par-

ticipate actively in the various development processes

outlined above. Partnership with international agencies

dealing directly with national governments is a neces-

sity for UNHCR therefore. Thus, the renewed focus on

increased cooperation through initiatives such as INEE,

Education Forum/INSPIRE and others need to be sup-

ported.

From crisis and conflict to peaceful coexistence

and reconciliation

The OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC)

stated as early as 1998 that the prevention of conflicts

is a central development goal, referring to actions un-

dertaken over the short-term to reduce manifest ten-

sions and to prevent the outbreak or recurrence of vio-

lent conflict. Peace-building and reconciliation focuses

on long-term support for, and establishment of, viable

political and socio-economic and cultural institutions

capable of addressing the root causes of conflicts, as

well as other initiatives aimed at creating the necessary

conditions for sustained peace and stability. Building

blocks for peace-building and reconciliation are good

governance and a reinforced civil society. Through

support for education, agencies have a crucial, if sensi-

tive, role to play in furthering non-violent solutions to

inter-group conflict and breaking the cycle of hostility

and conflict along ethnic, cultural and sectarian lines.

This can range from support for the development of

non-partisan curricula and textbooks, to helping culti-

vate and disseminate shared values such as tolerance

or pluralism, to specific assistance for peace education

initiatives and programmes, designed to help create a

better understanding of the origins and history of soci-

etal relations and promote inter-group cooperation,

reconciliation and peaceful coexistence.

The effect that disrupted schooling can have on children

who witness brutality and the breakdown of social and

moral structures can increase societal instability. This

can inhibit learning processes on how to deal with dis-

putes without resorting to violence, and how to coexist

peacefully, thus reinforcing the conflictual history of

inter-group relations. The forcible displacement of peo-

ple is a clear indicator of conflict, social insecurity and

the inability of a government to protect its citizens and

continue to provide basic services, education included.

The presence of large numbers of refugees creates eco-

nomic and social burdens for host countries and often

leads to conflicts with the local population. Their rein-

tegration, following their return home after displace-

ment, is often the first major step towards national rec-

onciliation. This process must take place within legal

frameworks and without discrimination or victimiza-

tion. Needs must be addressed explicitly as part of

peace negotiations and resulting reconstruction pro-

grammes and the rehabilitation of the education system

and services is one of the reintegration priorities next

to the restoration of basic security.

The main role of education in crisis prevention and

conflict resolution is on peace education, both as a

preventive measure and as a means of reconciliation.

Education for peace has the main goal of creating

peaceful coexistence and comprises all activities which

improve attitudes, knowledge and capabilities for con-

flict management and resolution. Education is a key

factor for participation in the process of development

and learning how to live together even in times of

emergency and crisis. Peace education is a component

26

of a child’s right to education. But peace education is

not only an essential component of a child’s educational

experience but also an instrument for the promotion of

peaceful, responsible, tolerant, equitable, friendly and

free societies. The connection between teaching school-

children about peace and the cultivation of peaceful so-

cieties is one of the central assumptions of peace edu-

cation. Peace education programming takes many

different forms in the world of humanitarian and devel-

opment actors. UNESCO’s Culture of Peace Programme,

UNICEF’s many peace education-related initiatives,

UNHCR’s Peace Education Programme, recently

handed over to the INEE, NRC’s human rights-oriented

programming, and GTZ’s Basic Education and Conflict

Transformation Programme are examples of a large

number of current initiatives. UNHCR’s Imagine Coex-

istence Project, launched in 2000 in collaboration with

Harvard University, stopped short of the ambitious goal

of reconciliation, and focused instead on bringing di-

vided communities to a point of “peaceful coexistence”,

with the notion that coexistence is a more attainable

goal in countries where incredible violence at the com-

munity level has occurred. Activities include educational

activities at the community level, and an assessment

study in Bosnia and Rwanda suggested applying the

coexistence “lens” to all UNHCR activities.

The challenge is to evaluate these peace education

programmes in terms of their impact and learning out-

comes, to include communities and not to limit the

activities to schools, to integrate peace education into

national curricula, to organize joint trainings and to im-

prove coordination at headquarter, regional and coun-

try levels to avoid duplication of efforts and different

approaches, contents and methodologies.

In conclusion, peace education has to be an inte-

grated part of basic education for refugees and dis-

placed populations and existing approaches and pro-

grammes need to be properly documented, widely

disseminated, well coordinated, strengthened and

built upon.

1.5 Conclusions

It is high time that education in emergencies, including

education for refugees and displaced populations, oc-

cupied the deserved place in humanitarian policies and

resulting strategy formulation and programme re-

sponses. Education in emergencies has only hit the

humanitarian agenda in the last decade, and evidence

of its impact is often still anecdotal. Although its status

as an important pillar of humanitarian assistance has

gained legitimacy over the years and is often regarded

as a priority sector by displaced communities, there are

still those in relief agencies who think it a “luxury” or a

task best left to development agencies. The fact, that

basic education helps to protect the physical and psy-

chological well-being of war-affected and displaced

communities is beyond doubt and well documented,

however. Protection in conflict and post-conflict situa-

tions is emerging as a legitimate humanitarian and de-

velopment concern, so the role of education as a tool

of protection needs to be further embraced by all

stakeholders. It is our responsibility to ensure that all

have access, the services are of good quality, and that

girls and women are adequately participating. Although

the achievement of MDG and EFA goals to beat

poverty in a fixed timeframe seems to be far away, par-

ticularly with regard to education (UPE may not be

achieved before 2130 according to the January 2005

MDG report, commissioned by the Secretary-General),

the reappraisal of the position of education in emer-

gency programming needs to be continued.

1. All emergency responses need to include

basic education services right from the start of

operations.

The EFA movement has inspired many major donors

to become much more deeply committed to and in-

volved in supporting education in emergencies, given

the commitment of EFA signatories to increasing access

to education for all children, including those affected

by wars. However, some donors are restricted by inter-

nal regulations from supporting where conflict persists;

27

others prefer to wait until there is peace or are reluc-

tant to make investments until the democratic process

has yielded concrete results. This results in severe

funding gaps, significantly impacting on education,

more particularly when emergencies are prolonged

for years and even decades.

2. One of the major challenges is to start

closing the existing funding gaps.

Crisis and post-conflict situations, on the other hand,

offer tremendous opportunities for change, including

restructuring broken-down education systems, intro-

duction of new approaches and methodologies to

teaching and training, revision and enrichment of cur-

ricula as well as closer coordination among actors and

stakeholders. During transitional phases from war to

peace and conflict to post-conflict, governments are

usually disempowered, thus creating space for interna-

tional agencies and local organizations to fill the vac-

uum. Here, it is important to recognize the govern-

ment’s or transitional authority’s lead role and not

ignore and marginalize them further but rather help

them to create the necessary capacity needed for the

development and management of their education

systems and programmes.

3. The lead role of governments needs to be ac-

knowledged and strengthened through capacity

building measures built into all education re-

sponses.

In the context of refugees and displaced populations

it is paramount to include them in national education

plans upon return to start a sustainable reintegration

process. This requires linking humanitarian responses

in education at an early stage with development plan-

ning and integration of returnees as ordinary citizens

into the education system of their home country.

The WB, together with UNICEF and UNESCO and

other development partners, is best placed to initiate

this process at country level, while UNHCR and other

humanitarian partners are encouraged to coordinate

their activities closely with them and the government.

Bilateral and multilateral agencies, while planning for

reconstruction activities with partner countries, need to

put refugees and displaced populations on the agenda

on their negotiations and include them into projects

and programmes.

4. Education responses in post-conflict situations

need to include refugees and displaced popula-

tions into both short-term reintegration activities

and longer-term development programming.

Targeting girls and women and increasing their access

and participation in basic education needs to be a con-

tinued goal for the international community. Gender

parity in 2005 and gender equality in 2015, expressed

goals in the Millennium Declaration, seem to be utopian,

but focus and emphasis on accelerated strategies need

to be maintained now and efforts reinforced. UNICEF’s

lead role needs to be supported and strengthened by

all actors, and joint commitments need to be followed

up by joint action on the ground.

5. Gender parity and gender equity acceleration

strategies and programmes need to be adequately

reflected and funded in all future education re-

sponses.

Communities are the cornerstone of all education re-

sponses. Their empowerment and participation and

their specific role in overseeing, monitoring and man-

aging education of their children guarantees success

and sustainability of outside interventions. Building

community capacity, therefore, must be an expressed

goal of all education responses, and training School

Management Committees, Village Education Commit-

tees and/or Parent/Teacher Associations, etc. to fulfill

their role in education needs to be included in pro-

gramme design and project proposals. Projects must

be “owned” by the communities and, given the un-

avoidable differences in power between aid agencies

and affected communities, education programming

must not be “paternalistic”, but be based on partner-

ship principles like trust, respect and mutual accoun-

tability.

28

6. Empowerment of communities through training

and capacity building must be an integral part of

basic education programmes for refugees and dis-

placed people.

Inter-agency coordination for education during emer-

gencies and post-conflict reintegration and reconstruc-

tion seems to be one of the most difficult challenges

to meet. Although all agencies promote coordination

and cooperation and have policies developed on part-

nerships, the reality on the ground shows a lack of

putting these policies into practice. The reasons are as

varied as the organizations involved: funding shortfalls,

insufficient resources, lack of qualified manpower, dif-

fering programme cycles, specialized mandates, institu-

tional arrogance or competition among actors are some

of the constraints. On the other hand, there are some

encouraging examples, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan,

Sudan, Liberia and other countries, but these good

practices are rather sporadic and lack a systematic ap-

proach. While cooperation in post-conflict scenarios

seems to be improving and a number of mechanisms

have been put into place (JAM, CCA/UNDAF, CAP,

PCNA, etc.) at the macro-level, cooperation at the im-

plementation level of projects and programmes needs

still to be improved. Similarly, in typical refugee set-

tings and protracted care and maintenance program-

mes, coordination takes place, usually under the lead-

ership of UNHCR and the host government, but is

more on information exchange than on joint planning,

implementing and monitoring. With very few excep-

tions, coordination frameworks do not sufficiently fea-

ture the lead role of governments and the de facto

education authority, although it is essential to work

together on curricular concerns, policies on paying

teachers and developing systems for implementing,

recognizing, validating and accepting teacher training

activities and certificates, student achievement and na-

tional examinations. Coordination work needs to be

funded like any other type of education activity, and

a lack of resources for meeting and training expenses,

transportation and translation costs, communication

and printing can seriously obstruct coordination.

7. Inter-agency coordination, cooperation and

partnerships should have a strong focus on opera-

tions, include all actors and stakeholders, recognize

the lead role of the government and its education

authorities, and take place at all levels, e.g. na-

tional, local and programme level.

Finally, coordination and cooperation can only be

translated into positive change for the target groups

if the roles and responsibilities of the various actors

and stakeholders described in the previous chapters

are clearly spelt out in binding agreements. In the con-

text of refugee and displaced populations, the primary

responsibility lies with the education authorities of na-

tional governments or transitional authorities. UNHCR,

being the lead agency for refugees, needs to be strength-

ened in terms of resource mobilization to meet its obli-

gation to provide quality education. Partnerships with

other agencies, particularly with development agencies,

can help the organization to achieve its goals of in-

creased access, gender equality and quality education.

UNICEF has a clear mandate for children and therefore

primary education, with a strong emphasis on girls’ ed-

ucation, and its lead role in post-conflict and reconstruc-

tion scenarios needs to be strengthened. UNESCO’s

role in spearheading EFA and promoting quality educa-

tion needs to be supported, in particular through ade-

quate programme funding. Their role in post-conflict

situations may be limited to secondary and tertiary ed-

ucation. Both organizations are well placed to ensure

that curriculum reforms include life skills education, in-

cluding peace education and other subjects. The World

Bank, in assisting governments to implement EFA-FTI,

PRSPs and SWAps, can ensure that refugees and dis-

placed populations are put on national agendas, that

returnees are included in education programmes, and

that area development programmes focus on major re-

turnee areas. Specialized agencies such as WFP, ILO,

UNPF, UNAIDS, UNEPI and others, who contribute to

specific aspects of education, need to be included in

coordination mechanisms, but are usually members of

the UNCTs. NGOs, both international and local, with a

proven education track record and expertise, need to

29

be adequately represented on all fora and are invalu-

able partners at the operational level. Strengthening the

leadership of local education authorities, communities

and civil society organizations through training and ca-

pacity building must form part of any intervention.

Cooperation must lead to joint action in the field with

clearly defined roles and responsibilities according to

agency mandates, competencies, expertise and resources

and should be documented in binding operational

agreements.

30

31

1.6 List of abbreviations

AED Academy for Educational Development

ALP Accelerated Learning Programme

BMZ Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung

(Federal German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development)

CAP Consolidated Appeals Process

CAS Country Assistance Strategy

CCA Common Country Assessment

CCF Christian Children’s Fund

CEC Community Education Committee

CPR Conflict Prevention and Post-Conflict Rehabilitation Network

CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child

CREPS Complementary Rapid Education for Primary Schools

CRS Catholic Relief Services

DAC Development Assistance Committee

DOS Division of Operational Support

EC European Commission

ECD Early childhood development

EFA Education for All

EFG Education Field Guidelines

EKE Education for the Knowledge Economy

EXCOM Executive Committee

FTI Fast Track Initiative

GMR Global Monitoring Report

GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (German Technical Cooperation)

HPCT Hugh Pilkington Charitable Trust

IASC Inter-Agency Standing Committee

IBE International Bureau of Education

ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

IDP internally displaced person

IFP/CRISIS InFocus Programme on Crisis Response and Reconstruction

IIEP International Institute for Educational Planning

ILO International Labour Organisation

INEE Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies

INSPIRE Innovative Strategic Partnerships In Refugee Education

IOM International Organization for Migration

IP implementing partner

IPEC International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour

IRC International Rescue Committee

JAM Joint Assessment Mission

JRS Jesuit Refugee Service

32

LOI Letter of Intent

LWF Lutheran World Federation

MDG Millennium Development Goals

MOE Ministry of Education

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MTSP Medium Term Strategic Plan

NCA Norwegian Church Aid

NGO Non-governmental Organization

NORAD Norwegian International Development Agency

NRC Norwegian Refugee Council

OCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

OFNET Field Offices Network of Emergency Education

OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

PCF Post-Conflict Fund

PCNA Post-Conflict Needs Assessments

PEER Programme for Education for Emergencies and Reconstruction ((!))

PEP Peace Education Programme

PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

PTA Parent Teacher Association

RET Refugee Education Trust

SCF Save The Children Fund

SMC School Management Committee

SWAp Sector-Wide Approach

TEP Teacher Emergency Package

UN United Nations

UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

UNCT United Nations Country Team

UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework

UNDG United Nations Development Group

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNGEI United Nations Girls Education Initiative

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UNHCHR United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNPF United Nations Population Fund

UPE Universal Primary Education

VEC Village Education Committee

WB World Bank

WCCDS Women, Children and Community Development Section

WCRWC Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children

33

WFP World Food Programme

WG Working Group

WHO World Health Organization

WUS World University Service

1.7 List of resource materialsPublications

CPR: A Compendium of Operational Frameworks for Peacebuilding & Donor Coordination,

CIDA Peacebuilding Unit, May 2000

DFID: Education, Conflict and International Development, A. Smith, T. Vaux, 2003

ECDPM: The EU’s Response to Conflict Affected Countries, European Centre for Development

Policy Management, Discussion Paper No. 31, International Alert, July 2001

FMR: Education in Emergencies, Forced Migration Review, January 2005

GTZ: Bildung und Konflikt, K. Seitz, November 2004

GTZ: Crisis Prevention and Conflict Management in Technical Cooperation, A. Mehler, C. Ribaux, 2000

GTZ: Developing Education and Youth-Promotion Measures with Focus on Crisis Prevention and Peace-Building, 2002

HPN: The role of education in protecting children in conflict, The Humanitarian Practice Network,

S. Nicolai, C. Triplehorn, 2003

ILO: Coordination in Crisis Response and Reconstruction, InFocus Programme on Crisis Response

and Reconstruction, October 2002

ILO: Employment intensive Reconstruction Works in Countries Emerging from Armed Conflicts,

Guidelines, December 2000

INEE: Handbook Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, January 2005

NRC: Education in Emergencies and transition phases: still a right and more of a need, E. Midttun, 2000

OECD-DAC: Conflict, Peace and Development Cooperation on the Threshold of the 21st Century,

Development Cooperation Guidelines Series, 1998

OECD: The DAC Guidelines – Helping Prevent Violent Conflict, International Development, 2001

RET: First Symposium on Post-Primary Refugee Education, September 2002; www.refugeeeducationtrust.org

SCF: Education in Emergencies. A tool kit for starting and managing education in emergencies, 2003

SCF: Education in Emergencies. Policy Paper, October 2001

SCF: Re-conceiving war-affected children: from passive victims to active survivors, S. Nicolai, C. Triplehorn, 2003

SPHERE: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, The Sphere Project,

Oxfam Publishing, 2000

UN: Achieving the Universal Primary Education Goal of the Millennium Declaration, Joint Inspection Unit, 2003

UNGEI: The Millennium Development Goals and the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative,

June 2002 – A Guidance Note to UN Country Teams

UNHCR: Education Field Guidelines, April 2003

UNHCR: Partnership: An Operations Management Handbook for UNHCR’s Partners, February 2003

UNHCR: Agenda For Protection, June 2003

UNHCR: Learning for a Future: Refugee Education in Developing Countries, December 2001

34

UNHCR: Education Forum/INSPIRE info-materials, Education Unit, May 2004

UNHCR: Developing & Strengthening Partnerships in Education (unpublished), J. Wintermeier, October 2004

UNHCR: Framework for Durable Solutions for Refugees and Persons of Concern, May 2003

UNHCR: Refugee Children – Guidelines on Protection and Care, 1994

UNHCR: Practical Guide to the Systematic use of Standards & Indicators in UNHCR Operations, January 2004

UNHCR: Handbook for Repatriation and Reintegration Activities, May 2004

UNICEF: Humanitarian Action Report 2004

UNICEF: UNICEF’s Priorities for Children 2002-2005

UNICEF: State of the World’s Children 2004

UNICEF: State of the World’s Children 2005: childhood under threat

UNICEF: Education in Emergencies and for Reconstruction – a Developmental Approach,

Working Paper Series, M. J. Pigozzi, 1999

UNESCO: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005: The Quality Imperative

UNESCO-IIEP: Planning education in and after emergencies, M. Sinclair, 2002

UNESCO: Guidelines for Education in Situations of Emergency and Crisis, EFA Strategic Planning, 2002

UNESCO: Education in Situations of Emergency and Crisis: Challenges for the New Century,

World Education Forum, Dakar, April 2000

USAID-BEPS: Education in Emergencies: Critical Questions and Challenges, M. Sommers, CARE, 2003

WCRWC: Global Survey on Education in Emergencies, February 2004

WCRWC/AED: The Education Imperative: Supporting Education in Emergencies, M. Sommers, 2003

World Bank: Children Education and war: reaching Education for All (EFA) objectives in countries affected

by conflict, M. Sommers, 2002

World Bank: Reshaping the future: education and post-conflict reconstruction, January 2005

World Bank: Post-Conflict Reconstruction – The Role of the World Bank, April 1998

Organizational Websites

Academy for Educational Development www.aed.org

CARE www.careusa.org

CRS www.catholicrelief.org

GTZ www.gtz.de

INEE www.ineesite.org

IRC www.theirc.org

JRS www.jesref.org

NRC www.nrc.no

RET www.refugeeeducationtrust.org

SCF www.savethechildren.net

UNESCO www.unesco.org

UNICEF www.unicef.org

UNHCR www.unhcr.ch

Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children www.womenscommission.org

Holger Munsch

Case study: Basic education forAfghan refugees (1990-2004)

Map of the refugee camps in Pakistan

Part 2

35

Source: UNHCR: http://www.unhcr.org, Geneva, 2004

2.1 Introduction

The invasion of Afghanistan by Russian troops in 1979

prompted several waves of refugees – primarily to the

neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Iran, yet also

overseas. Following the withdrawal of Russian troops

in 1989, the internal power struggles among Afghan

groupings meant that the flow of refugees continued,

with people continuing to seek a safe haven in the

neighbouring provinces of Pakistan. Shortly after the

Soviet invasion there were several hundred thousand

Afghan refugees in Pakistan’s North West Frontier

Province (NWFP). This number rose to 2.1 million

through to December 2001, when the country was

invaded by western troops headed by the USA. A total

of over three million people had fled to Pakistan dur-

ing the civil war.

Following the collapse of the Taliban regime and the

resulting waves of repatriation in 2002 there were still

0.81 million Afghan refugees in NWFP; throughout the

whole country the figure was put at just under 1.2 mil-

lion. Data from the Commissionerate for Afghan

Refugees (CAR) indicates 1.2 million refugees alone for

NWFP at the end of 2002. The discrepancy of some

400,000 is probably due to the not inconsiderable num-

ber of returnees and commuters who could not be

recorded by UNHCR. CAR assumes that at the end of

2005 there will still be about half a million Afghan

refugees in NWFP.

The generally high number of nearly two million

repatriations from Pakistan should not mask the fact

that 85 per cent of these were urban refugees, the

majority of whom were not registered and who re-

turned to their native towns. In 2004 UNHCR estimated

the number of refugees remaining in Pakistani towns

to be as many as 2.4 million.

Of the registered refugees formerly living in camps

in rural areas of NWFP, the proportion of repatriated

refugees is only twelve per cent of the total number

of returnees. The some 1.2 million refugees remaining

in NWFP are not only a major challenge for the gov-

ernment of Pakistan, but also for the international

donor organisations and the NGOs, above all in terms

of the necessary aid. Thus it is estimated that 250,000

children and young people need basic education, but

that only about 150,000 children actually receive basic

and secondary education. In this respect further assis-

tance from abroad is required.

2.2 BEFARe – From project to NGO

At the beginning of the 1980s the global community,

and in particular the international donor community

and international non-governmental organisations,

recognised the necessity to provide the Afghan refugee

population with education (basic, secondary and terti-

ary education).

As early as 1984 a forerunner project began – “Basic

education in refugee-affected areas of NWFP” – with

the objective of improving basic education for the

Afghan and Pakistani populations in the refugee camps

and the neighbouring settlement areas of North West

Province. In 1990 it was necessary to split up this fore-

runner project, which led to an independent project in

education assistance for Pakistani children (Primary

Education Charsadda District). It was expanded from

being a pilot project into a province-wide sector proj-

ect (Education Sector Development Programme). The

other project component with the target group Afghan

refugees became the project “Basic Education for Afghan

Refugees” (BEFARe). BEFARe went through a total of

six assistance phases from 1990 to the end of 2004;

each of these phases generally lasted two years, and

towards the end of the project the cycles became shorter.

The objectives and orientations of the project changed

over the course of time. The tasks of the project were

continually expanded, their diversity increased.

36

37

Assistance phase 1: 11/1990-10/1992

Overriding objective: The living conditions of Afghan refugees are improved

Project objective: Basic education for Afghan refugees is improved

Results: 1. Teachers are given training in the use of pupil-centred and pupil-activating teaching materials and methods

2. Amended teaching and learning materials are made available3. Out-of-school education programmes are conducted4. Project management is established at various levels


Overriding objective: Basic education for Afghan refugees is improved

Project objective: Effective teaching and learning is taking place in the field of

basic education for Afghan refugees

Results: 1. Teachers are given further training in the use of existing pupil-centred

and pupil-activating materials

2. Pupil-activating teaching and learning materials are made available

3. Non-formal education programmes are successfully implemented

4. Teaching staff are prepared for tasks in Afghanistan

5. Management abilities of the project personnel are enhanced

at various levels


Overriding objective: Basic education for Afghan refugees is improved

Project objective: Effective teaching and learning is enhanced in the field of basic

education for Afghan refugees

Results: 1. Teachers are given further training in the pupil-oriented use of

teaching materials

2. Amended teaching, learning and further training materials are

prepared

3. Participants acquire the ability to read and write, as well as

numeracy skills

4. Participants acquire knowledge of health care for mother and

child (MCH)

5. Closer contacts established to Afghanistan to support basic education

6. Management abilities consolidated on various levels

Overview of the individual assistance phases (1990-2004)

38


Overriding objective: Self-regulating, self-dependent basic education is promoted

Project objective: Basic education (including literacy and basic health courses) for

Afghan refugees is improved in qualitative terms with a view to the

greater participation of communities and taking into particular

consideration women and girls and their life and work situations

Results: 1. Teaching and learning materials are completed and made available

2. Teachers are empowered to use various types of internal and external

project materials from the non-formal sector for teaching purposes

3. Children who do not attend school and adults acquire abilities and

knowledge in MCH und literacy and make use of these

4. Communities are mobilised to assume increasing responsibility for

basic education

5. AG-BASEd management competence and organisation consolidated

so as to utilize BEFARe’s know-how

6. Project know-how is secured on a sustainable basis by consolidating

the management during the processing phase


39


Overriding objective: Basic education aimed at repatriation and independence is promoted

and improved

Project objective:

Change in project

objective:

Basic education becomes more functional through the integration of vo-

cational measures and the participation of communities so as to better

meet the needs of the Afghan refugees, and in particular women and girls

Basic education becomes more functional through improvements in text-

book production, teacher training and further training, literacy, participa-

tion of communities and temporary vocational measures so as to better

meet the needs of the Afghan refugees, and in particular women and girls

Results: 1. Amended teaching and learning materials are developed, modified,

completed and made available

2. Instructors are empowered to work with the new approach

3. Children who do not attend school, as well as adults (women and

men) have acquired improved abilities and knowledge in the

non-formal basic education sector

4. Selected participants are familiarised with basic technical skills

and placed in a position to earn an income

5. Communities are mobilised and increasingly assume responsibility

for education activities

6. BEFARe’s know-how is promoted and disseminated by relevant

NGOs

7. Conditions are created and maintained for the effective implementa-

tion of the project activities


40

Assistance phase 6: 10/2002-12/2003; follow-up phase through to 12/2004

Overriding objective: Basic education aimed at repatriation and independence is promoted

and improved

Project objective: The independent organisation that has emerged from BEFARe

implements – on a sustained and independent basis – tasks in the

field of basic education for Afghan refugees in Pakistan and for

Pakistani target groups

Results: 1. BEFARe, as a new, legally independent organisation provides

economically sustainable basic education services for Afghan

refugees in Pakistan and for Pakistani target groups

2. The successor organisation to BEFARe acquires independent

contracts from international donors

3. The quality of formal basic education is further improved

4. Non-formal basic education for refugees and local communities,

which benefits women and girls in particular, is offered in an

improved form


Of particular importance is the focus of the project

in the final two years. The Afghan non-governmental

organisation Afghan German-Basic Education (AG-

BASEd) provided pedagogic support on the basis

of the BEFARe school concept in the eastern Afghan

provinces of Kunar, Nuristan, Nangahar, Khost and

Paktia. In line with the BEFARe concept it offered for-

mal and non-formal basic education in the provincial

and rural towns of these provinces.

During the first three years (1995 to 1998) AG-BASEd

was assisted by BEFARe with free teaching and learn-

ing materials, as well as further training for teachers.

After it had increasingly acquired project funds from

international donors and the project structure had been

established, AG-BASEd increasingly functioned as an

independent NGO. Whenever support was required,

however, AG-BASEd was given advice. It was regarded

as the implementation organisation for the BEFARe

concept in Afghanistan.

As an independent non-governmental organisation

AG-BASEd itself was now to acquire contracts for the

further care to be provided for the refugees, whose

numbers, incidentally, were only slowly dwindling.

In addition, basic education measures were to be im-

plemented, and in particular in the field of non-formal

basic education in the Pakistani communities bordering

on the refugee camps (“local host communities”). In

rural areas there was a lack of schools, and what few

there were, were so far apart that the Pakistani popula-

tion had difficulty participating in the public school

system. The illiteracy rate for men, for example, was

42 per cent, for women it was 73 per cent. The school

enrolment rate for girls in rural areas was lower than

five per cent.

The refugees in the camps came from different regions

and belonged to differing ethnic groups and social

classes. Nevertheless, the majority of refugee camps in

rural NWFP had a relatively homogeneous population,

as very often whole villages – primarily from eastern

and north-eastern Afghanistan – had emigrated to

Pakistan. Newly-established councils of elders partici-

pated in the camp administration in cooperation with

the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees (CAR)

and UNHCR. Furthermore, in most camps there were

committees which looked after health and education.

BEFARe succeeded in initiating such committees

for 320 schools with the active participation of the

refugees. These School Management Committees

(SMCs) took over the management and operation

of the schools. They were prepared to assume greater

responsibility.

One target group for BEFARe was refugees from rural

camps in North West Province. The formal, academic

basic education offerings were oriented towards boys

and girls in grades 1 to 6, the extracurricular education

offerings to men and women, as well as to boys and

girls. Another target group was formed by girls and

working boys, young people and women from the

Pakistani communities which bordered on the refugee

camps.

The brokers for the project at various levels were:

– Representatives of the School Management

Committees,

– Master trainers, field education supervisors, head

teachers of schools and teachers for the formal

basic education area,

– Trainers and literacy instructors for the non-formal area.

As BEFARe was also the recipient of services for the

organisation, personnel and management development,

its regional heads were the brokers at the higher level.

Project components and project organisation

BEFARe’s range of tasks and project components

developed in accordance with the changing objectives

over the years. They became more varied and exten-

sive; project activities increasingly had to be agreed

upon with other partners and organisations.

41

At the beginning of the project in 1990 the emphasis

was on further training for teachers, the development

of amended teaching and learning materials, and the

implementation of out-of-school education program-

mes. The next phase saw the development of basic

health courses for mothers and young women. In the

fourth assistance phase, which began in 1996, the

focus was on the further participation of school com-

munities with the commencement of the first reim-

bursable technical cooperation with UNHCR. The fifth

phase (1999 to 2002) saw the inclusion of the qualifica-

tion of school-leavers in the field of vocational and in-

come-creating measures. The production of teaching

and learning materials in the two national languages

Pashto and Dari took place on an ongoing basis over

the years, with the refugee communities increasingly

taking on responsibility for school matters. In coopera-

tion with other NGOs the materials that had been de-

veloped were distributed, and the know-how gathered

over the years disseminated. New reimbursable techni-

cal cooperations were concluded so as to utilize the

available project potential. The monitoring and evalua-

tion system was expanded, the finance management

system modernised.

The project had to orient itself to a long stay in

Pakistan, although its transfer to Afghanistan was not

excluded. Despite the presence of the Taliban regime

in Afghanistan, it was necessary to retain the perspec-

tive for returning refugees being able to use the

knowledge they had acquired so as to organise and

administer schools in their own country.

Cooperation with other organisations

UNHCR:

Whereas CAR, with the support of UNHCR, originally

coordinated the formal basic education for refugee

children, in 1996 this task was transferred by UNHCR

to BEFARe. BEFARe expanded its assistance to a total

of 320 camp schools. The large number of enrolled

pupils – initially 55,000 – could only be attained

through the active inclusion of community members

in the primary education offerings. This necessitated

the virtually complete reorientation and accentuation

in the Community Development and Participation field,

as new western interventionist approaches could not

ignore traditional Afghan values and standards.

In the school year 2003/2004 over 110,000 pupils,

of whom over 31,000 were girls, were taught in those

schools receiving this support. Thus the proportion

of girls rose to a total of 29 per cent. By the end of

2003 BEFARe had qualified over 2,850 teachers, of

whom some 550 were women, in the use of the teach-

ing and learning materials developed by BEFARe.

The gradual further training on the part of the “Master

Trainers” and “Field Education Supervisors” led to

improvements in the quality of teaching and in the

learning efficacy.

At the end of the 1990s a vocational component

over a period of several years was incorporated into

the ongoing reimbursable technical cooperation with

UNHCR. Graduates of the formal and non-formal

education system were to acquire vocational skills

so as to be in a position to earn a living in Pakistan

and also later, following repatriation, in Afghanistan.

This sub-component was suspended by UNHCR

after two years due to financial bottlenecks.

DFID:

From June 2001 to March 2004 the British Depart-

ment for International Development (DFID) promoted

BEFARe’s basic education measures. The contribution

by the DFID aided the development of personnel re-

sources and enhanced the implementation capacities

within the project. The aid was provided for formal

as well as non-formal education.

World Bank:

From January 2002 to the end of 2004 the World Bank

financed a package of services – within the framework

42

of the “Strategy for Afghan Education” formulated

by Save the Children (USA) and UNICEF – for the

implementation of an expanded teacher further train-

ing programme for primary, intermediate and second-

ary schools in remote areas of North West Frontier

Province and for improved education in refugee

self-help schools.

CIDA:

From May 2003 to the end of 2005 CIDA (Canadian

International Development Agency) supported a

project component, which, on the one hand, propa-

gated the significance and necessity of basic education

for girls through the SMCs; and on the other hand

promoted the further training in the gender sector.

Through the increased deployment of female teachers

(40 per cent) it was also intended to increase the

number of girls in selected refugee schools to 35

per cent.

Project organisation and implementation units

Control was the responsibility of the project office

in the provincial capital Peshawar. At the end of 2003

there were some 160 employees working in the eight

departments. The six field offices (resource centres)

were responsible for looking after the some 320

schools in the formal sector and the some 400 mea-

sures in the non-formal education sector. The extensive

scope of the tasks at BEFARe required a very complex

organisational structure. This structure often changed

therefore over the course of the individual project

phases in line with the development of the project

objectives and the results to be attained. Whereas the

structure in the first ten years was heavily hierarchical,

during the last phase there was a shift in line with the

planned organisational independence. The six resource

centres, which were controlled from the main office,

are not included in the following graphics.

43

Organisational structure of BEFARe during the first ten project years

Source: BEFARe/MIS

Graphic 1

Knowledge Center

Non-FormalEducation

FormalEducation

Programming &Development

CommunityParticipation

ManagementInformation System& Monitoring and

Evaluation

AdministrativeServices

Financial Services

Management Team9 members: CTA and TA plus all Project Managers

AdvisoryCommittee

Assigned to the resource centres in the formal basic

education sector were 320 head teachers, of whom

66 were women, and 2,523 class teachers, including

491 women. In the non-formal sector there was a total

of 341 literacy teachers, including 127 women, at the

end of 2003. In mid-2004, after the completion of the

reimbursable technical cooperations with DFID and

the World Bank and after a reduction in the reim-

bursable technical cooperation with UNHCR, due to

the return of a further 300,000 refugees from Pakistan

to Afghanistan, there were 78 employees in the main

office and 28 in the remaining five resource centres.

These were joined by 2,560 teachers. As an NGO

BEFARe had to fall in line with the economic situation,

just like a private company, and plan its number of

employees accordingly.

The specialist departments and their tasks

BEFARe had four service and four specialist depart-

ments. The operational and content tasks of the project

were controlled by the specialist departments.

Formal education:

A specialist department was responsible for all tasks

in Formal education. 23 master trainers and 59 field

education supervisors were responsible for taking care

of the more than 300 refugee schools in 21 districts of

North West Province, in which over 100,000 primary

school pupils were assisted each year during the final

phases. In addition to the provision of school materials

and textbooks, the department was also responsible for

the overall management of the school administration.

44

Organisational structure of BEFARe at the end of the project

Source: BEFARe/MIS

AG-BASEd

Graphic 2

ProgrammingDepartment

NF-EducationDepartment

F-EducationDepartment

CommunityParticipation &DevelopmentDepartment

FinanceDepartment

Administration & Human

ResourcesDepartment

MIS/M&EDepartment

Research &DevelopmentDepartment

Programming &Implementation

Division

Finance &Operations

Divison

Chief Executive

Board of Trustees

This meant it was responsible for the quality of the

lessons and for holding basic and refresher courses,

as well as subject-specific courses and “focal point”

activities as part of the training and further training of

teachers. Since 1990 some 7,000 teachers, including

around 2,100 women, were given further training in

general methodology and didactics as well as in the

use of pupil-oriented teaching and learning materials,

and offered further support through ongoing focal

point teaching consulting. The department was also

responsible in terms of content for the ongoing revi-

sion and completion of the curriculum, the textbooks,

as well as the relevant teacher manuals and supple-

mentary learning materials. Furthermore, it was

responsible for the examinations and certification.

Non-formal education:

From the very outset of the project the specialist de-

partment Non-formal education played a very im-

portant role with its programme approaches. For boys

and girls who – because they were refugees – were

not initially able to attend school and who due to their

age could not later be integrated into formal teaching,

the literacy measures were an adequate education

offering. In particular girls, who were no longer sent

to school by their parents once they reached puberty

for cultural reasons, were able to take part in lessons

again thanks to the special school model “Home

Schools”. The Home Schools offered lessons for

grades one to five in the private homes of refugees.

In the majority of cases the lessons were given by

mothers who had been given further training, based

on their own school education, as teachers. Given the

low number of approximately 20 pupils per class in

the Home Schools it was possible to cover the school

curriculum in two to three years rather than five.

Young people and adult men and women participated

in the staggered education measures alongside their

daily work; the lessons took place in private houses

or in buildings used for public gatherings. The courses

were followed up with simple, informal vocational

education measures so as to allow the graduates an

opportunity to improve their income.

Functional literacy courses were held for mothers and

young women on the topics of mother and child

health/family health. These included baby/child care,

health care and social matters within the family. These

non-formal education offerings were controlled by five

to six female master trainers and eight to twelve female

supervisors. The department was responsible for the

literacy measures. Basic courses for teachers were

generally conducted with a master trainer and trainers;

further training courses were often coupled with corre-

sponding courses in the field of formal basic educa-

tion. This department was also responsible for the

content of the textbooks, the production of the audio

cassettes in Pashto to accompany the courses, and for

other materials needed during lessons. The vocational

courses offered after the conclusion of the measure

also ranked among the responsibilities of this depart-

ment. On average, 400 measures with a total of 10,000

to 12,000 participants were conducted each year.

In the early 1990s the project recognised that the

Afghan refugee families from rural areas had an am-

bivalent stance towards the ongoing school attendance

of their children. Very often regular school attendance

was not possible in Afghanistan due to the lack of a

comprehensive education offering. Boys had to con-

tribute to the family’s income at an early stage. Girls

were no longer sent to school with the onset of pu-

berty. It was necessary to change this pattern in the

camps in Pakistan.

From the mid-1990s onwards, and in particular after

the take-over of the UNHCR schools, significance was

attached to greater participation in school life on the

part of parents and communities. This brought forth

Community Participation and Development, which to

this day still secures a great deal of the acceptance and

success of the basic education measures offered by

BEFARe.

45

46

Community Participation and Development:

One of the main tasks of the specialist department

Community Participation and Development was

the foundation and training of members of community-

based School Management Committees (SMCs) at each

individual school and with each literacy measure. The

work of the SMCs, with numerous, diverse community-

oriented information and mobilisation measures, not

only led to a noticeable decline in the drop-out rates,

but also to a significant increase in the enrolment rates

for girls. In 1996 some 6,000 girls enrolled for school,

by the end of 2002 this number had increased more

than five-fold to around 32,000. Thanks to the commu-

nity-oriented information work, women became aware

of their thirst for education.

Under the guidance of a local community development

expert the 16 motivators, as well as 23 assistants, estab-

lished a sustainable community development concept –

through training in awareness creation, as well as the

organisational development of school management

committees. In 2002 alone, more than 3,000 persons

were trained for 320 SMCs. The SMCs regularly partici-

pated in in-school and out-of-school activities, for ex-

ample construction measures and repair work in the

schools, the collection of donations for the repairs, tree

planting and cleanliness campaigns, as well as measures

to reduce the number of drop-outs and the amount of

time pupils were absent from school. Not least of all,

the SMCs were increasingly involved in decision-mak-

ing processes and the appointment of new teachers.

Ultimately the members of the SMCs, and in particular

the older ones, had acquired sufficient authority and

standing to settle disputes among the teachers, be-

tween teachers and parents, as well as between par-

ents and other parties. BEFARe strengthened the func-

tion of the SMCs as mediators in disputes.

The well dispute

SMC came into action in Gawaki refugee camp when the head of the primary school and the head of the

middle school found themselves at dispute over a well. The head of the primary school had the well dug

in the school compound, his colleague, the head of the middle school, was of the opinion the well should

be outside the compound, the reason being that it would be easier for the latter to get water for his own

domestic use. The community elders accused him of upsetting the entire camp, something which left him

totally unperturbed. The situation escalated, with the two head teachers ultimately threatening one another

with pistols. The district administrator intervened; the pair were thrown into jail.

The SMC and project staff discussed the dispute in detail in the search for a solution; after all, the conflict

had had a negative impact on pupils as well as on the camp community. The case was carefully analysed,

the interests of both parties weighed up. It was clear that the motive for the pair’s behaviour was personal

gain and not the well-being of the community.

It was decided to send a delegation of camp elders together with the community motivator to the IRC office

and obtain authority to dig a second well outside the school compound. This was granted. The inhabitants

of the camp helped with the construction of the well, which not only provided 400 pupils with water but

also 45 families in the neighbourhood. The following decision was taken with regard to the two disputing

head teachers: Both were relieved of their positions as head teachers and transferred to other schools. They

were also given a disciplinary warning.

Management Information System:

In reaction to the 1996 recommendations in the inter-

nal GTZ progress report by Glatzer and Frommer the

department Management Information System

(Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation) began

with the ongoing development of impact assessment.

The information system for the formal and non-formal

basic education sector comprised three components:

– Information about the individual camp schools in

the province,

– Personnel profiles of the schoolteachers,

– Data on the School Management Committees.

From 1999 onwards it became evident that parallel

to the existing Management Information System “soft”

data from the rest of the project environment also

had to be gathered so as to acquire information and

knowledge about the target groups and their conduct,

wishes and needs. In this context the “Participatory

Monitoring and Evaluation System” (PM&E) was intro-

duced, with over 900 persons receiving training.

Knowledge Center:

Among the most important tasks at the specialist depart-

ment Knowledge Center (knowledge management

and development of teaching and learning mate-

rials) was the development and ongoing development

of teaching and learning materials, as well as their

publication, in close cooperation with the departments

Formal education, Non-formal education, Community

Development and PM&E. This covered all textbooks

and the accompanying training manuals for teachers of

grades one to six in the two languages Pashto and Dari.

Moreover this specialist department was responsible for

the library, the procurement of new textbooks, for the

mobile libraries, as well as the mobile physics and

chemistry laboratory boxes. This also included their

provision with spare parts and their expansion. In the

final project phase and in the wake of the launch of

knowledge management, the department also became

familiar with electronic archiving of the teaching and

learning materials, as well as the additional learning

aids, developed to date. Great demands were placed

on the specialist department and its nine employees –

teachers, textbook authors, illustrators, calligraphers

and computer experts.

Programming and development:

For a long time the department Programming and

Development was only staffed by one employee. Later,

as BEFARe increasingly performed reimbursable technical

cooperation activities, the number of personnel was in-

creased by two. The department was primarily respon-

sible for the timely implementation of project tasks and

project components. In addition to its project manage-

ment tasks, it increasingly became a key point of con-

tact for coordination processes and clarification with the

local partners, with reimbursable technical cooperation

partners, as well as with other local, regional and in-

ternational aid organisations working in Afghanistan.

Furthermore, over the years the department was in-

creasingly involved in the acquisition of new project

measures (reimbursable technical cooperation compo-

nents). A marketing study was prepared in order to place

BEFARe in a position after the end of the project to con-

duct coordinated marketing of its products and services.

Finances:

The department Finances with four employees was re-

sponsible for the entire financial planning and book-

keeping. Its responsibilities also included taking care of

national income tax matters and the invoicing of proj-

ect components in accordance with the financial and

budget rules of the respective client.

Towards the end of the project the department began

with the establishment of an accounting system inde-

pendent of the German involvement, and with initial

work for the preparation of finance plans which re-

flected various financial bottleneck scenarios after the

end of the project. Ultimately, the department partici-

pated in the elaboration of a business plan for the new

BEFARe NGO.

47

Administration and Personnel Development:

The department Administration und Personnel

Development comprised 81 employees, who, along-

side general administrative tasks in the main office,

also had to take care of the administrative tasks for

the six resource centres. The logistics, repair and main-

tenance of 43 vehicles, the storage and procurement

of materials, the organisation of training courses and

planning workshops, the security tasks, building ad-

ministration and repairs and conversions were also the

responsibility of the department. The planned inde-

pendence of BEFARe made the establishment of a sub-

unit necessary two years before the end of the final as-

sistance phase; this unit was responsible for personnel

development, job descriptions, department-specific

“working profiles”, career planning for personnel, fur-

ther training and instruments for personnel evaluation.

In this context the sub-unit assumed a central role in

the revision of the entire body of rules for personnel

planning and administration.

2.3 The education concept of BEFARe

Previously teaching and learning materials produced

by bodies not directly involved in the project failed to

prepare pupils sufficiently for dealing with day-to-day

life and a later working life. Teaching with these peda-

gogically questionable materials (UNO book from the

University of Nebraska and Omaha) was also a source

of great difficulty for the teachers. In lessons the teach-

ers slipped into old-fashioned teaching patterns, as the

lessons generally only involved teacher-centred learn-

ing and learning by heart without any sustainable

learning effect. At over 20 per cent the drop-out rate

was very high.

This was compounded by the restrictive power of

political-traditional and religious leaders in the camps,

whose influence over all aspects of life was evident.

This meant that clear limits were placed on the partici-

pation of women and girls in activities outside the

home, with the effect that enrolment rates for girls

were extremely low and access to non-formal educa-

tion offerings remained difficult for women. There

was no modified education offering for girls in suitable

homes (home-schooling). Likewise there were no non-

formal education offerings for children who for various

reasons had had no access to basic education during

primary school age.

Shortcomings in school management and in the super-

vision of schools were the reason for quantitative and

qualitative deficits in the basic education sector, as was

the lack of participation and involvement of refugees

in the development of their schools. Moreover, there

was no concept for the integration of education pro-

grammes for refugees into sector-based development

programmes – be this in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

Comprehensive framework conditions for Afghan

refugees securing an independent and sustainable

existence were totally lacking or were inadequate.

Overcoming prejudices and reservations

Over the years the reservations of the refugees towards

modern education were increasingly reduced. Educa-

tion programmes were no longer regarded by a rising

number of refugees as a danger from the west to their

cultural values and standards. Acquiring the basis skills

of reading, writing and arithmetic was increasingly re-

garded as a prerequisite for participation and career

progress in the alien environment. The existence of an

effective, and above all familiar, school infrastructure

was a basic prerequisite for many refugees (community

elders and patriarchs, parents, teachers, head teachers,

trainers etc.) being able to return to Afghanistan, so as

to be able to contribute to the re-development of the

education system there.

BEFARe’s methodical-didactic approach in the formal

and non-formal education sectors was based on teach-

48

ing materials which were qualified to equip pupils

to better cope with daily life. The extensive BEFARe

education model was so freely designed in terms of

curriculum that it could be integrated into the frame of

reference of an Islamic society. New knowledge was

treated so that it would tie in with existing knowledge.

In the non-formal sector the approach was restricted

to the expansion of skills and abilities with which

adults could permeate their own environment and

utilise these in economic terms, i.e. education and

employment. The primary objective here was convey-

ing the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic.

With the literacy courses and mother and child health

courses (MCH) this project area was aimed directly

at Afghan women. The woman’s programme was

geared to teaching and educating women, and sup-

porting their autonomy and independence. It was

able to contribute to improving and consolidating

their status within the family.

Formal and non-formal basic education

BEFARe’s offering of formal and non-formal education

took into account religious, national and cultural values

so as to preserve the identity of the refugees. The formal

education programme included the following aspects:

– Provision of basic education for grades one to six in

the subjects Pashto, Dari, Islamiat, arithmetic, physics,

chemistry, social studies, geography and in part English;

– Improvement in teaching and learning standards

through staggered training and further training for

teachers:

- Basic qualification (10 days),

- Revision courses (5 days),

- Further training at the place of work (ongoing),

- Subject-specific further training,

- Joint further training with other education projects,

- Teacher training and further training for middle

schools at the training centre of the refugee

commissioner (CAR).

In the period from 1996 to 2003 some 7,000 teachers

participated in the basic and revision courses; 370

teachers came from other NGOs or from the CAR

education department responsible for middle and

secondary schools.

– Provision of and consulting in formal school

management since 1996:

- Administration of 320 schools (190 for boys,

74 for girls and 56 mixed schools) with over

112,000 pupils, thereof over 29,000 girls (26.5%),

with over 2,800 teachers, thereof 567 female

teachers (19%) and 438 teacher’s assistants,

- In 28 schools there were double shifts, further

schools are scheduled for double-shift operation,

- Books, exercise books, pencils etc. were

provided for the pupils.

– The production of teaching and learning materials:

- Textbooks for mathematics, Pashto and Dari,

as well as teacher guides, are developed and

published for grades one to six,

- 16 different types of teaching materials such as

maps, charts, introductions to scientific subjects etc.

are developed and published for both national

languages.

In addition to the provision of and consulting in formal

school management, the non-formal education pro-

gramme included the implementation of teacher training

and further training, training for illiteracy instructors, as

well as the production of the requisite materials. The

following measures were conducted in the field of

non-formal basic education:

– Mother and Child Health (MCH) courses:

The measures were conducted in refugees’ quarters.

The courses for women offered basic education and

knowledge/aids to cope with daily life:

- Mother and Child Health,

- Precautions during pregnancy,

- Information to reduce infant mortality,

- Child growth and nutrition,

- Knowledge of the environment and hygiene,

- Awareness of the dangers of mines.

49

These MCH courses in the field of functional literacy

were integrated into the adult education programme and

lasted six months. Over 82,300 women have participated

in the Mother and Child Health courses since 1989.

– Literacy for adults:

- These courses with a duration of 19 months were

directly aimed at adult illiterates and comprised

reading, writing and arithmetic.

- The courses were offered in the national

languages of the participants.

- More than 71,200 participants, including 26,400

women and girls, successfully concluded over

3,700 courses in this programme since 1992.

– Home Schools for girls and boys:

- These courses – held in refugee accommodation –

were offered to boys and girls who, for cultural

and age reasons, were not in a position to

complete their education as originally planned.

- With this type of teaching the material normally

covered in five school years was dealt with in

a period of 30 months.

- The subjects were identical with those in formal

basic education.

- Each course had an average of 25 participants.

- The courses were offered in the national languages

of the participants.

- Since 1996 more than 31,100 children, including

over 10,900 girls, graduated in over 1,900 measures.

– Development of materials for non-formal education:

- NFE textbooks and teacher guides for lessons in

reading, writing and arithmetic in the national

languages Pashto and Dari;

- Additional learning materials in Pashto and Dari;

- Teaching materials for NFE textbooks;

- MCH books in the languages Pashto and Dari,

and MCH teaching materials, also in the two

national languages;

- In addition, 21 audio cassettes (Pashto) were

prepared for the MCH courses.

Moreover, there was a small volume of materials

for the income-generating vocational qualification

measures which had begun in the fifth phase

of the project.

The teaching and learning materials were designed

so that they were suited for use with pupil-oriented

teaching. In agreement with UNHCR, UNICEF, UNESCO

and other international organisations, as well as with

Afghan pedagogic staff from other regionally active

NGOs, the teaching areas which were considered

necessary for the education of Afghan children under

the prevailing conditions were laid down.

Among other things the teaching materials reflected

the following statements:

– Respect the culture of Afghan Islamic community

and protect its values.

– Arouse their sense of love, good understanding,

cooperation, solidarity, sentiments, brotherhood and

peace with own family members, classmates and

countrymen and act upon them.

– Recognize own responsibilities in the community as

true Afghan Muslim.

– Growth of their personality as a sound and active

member of the community and play their role in the

community.

– Be prepared to actively participate in the reconstruc-

tion of Afghanistan according to their age, knowl-

edge information and skills acquired.

– Learn the basic principles of speaking, reading

and writing and based on that, further develop

own future learning skills according to their age

and capacity so as to lead a successful daily life.

– Acquire knowledge concerning the cleanliness and

hygiene of their family and environment and to

apply it.

– Respect social values and law and observe them.

– Acquire knowledge concerning natural environment,

mine awareness, drug abuse and basic health.

– Get knowledge about the personal environment and

homeland.

– Develop their sense of aesthetics in life and enjoy

the beauty of nature, community and arts.

50

– Enjoy leisure time and in relation to growth, imple-

ment own decision.

Thus key content on peace education, human rights,

mine awareness, environment, health education, re-

construction, as well as reconciliation and the unity of

the Afghan peoples is to be found in nearly all the

books for the respective subjects and class levels.

Teacher manuals were prepared to accompany all the

text books in the individual subjects for all class levels;

the teachers were to orient themselves to these manu-

als when preparing lessons. Each guide book begins

with an introduction. This introduction provides a

guideline for the teacher on the correct use of materi-

als. It also helps the teacher, providing information

about the total number of units and their further divi-

sion into sub-units or daily lessons. It also underlines

the importance of relating previous knowledge to the

new material in each lesson.

For quality reasons the entire material was subject to

continuous internal evaluation so as to include the nec-

essary modifications and corrections that arose during

the course of a school year. External appraisals and

suggestions for improvements were facilitated through

feedback from those organisations which used the

BEFARe materials.

Materials and certificates

From 2001 onwards UNICEF propagated newly-created

textbooks for Afghan refugee schools in Pakistan as

well as schools in Afghanistan; these were based on

the “Competency Based Learning Approach”. On the

one hand, these were recommended for school use; on

the other hand, in Afghanistan at the beginning of 2002

those books in use were out-dated cost-favourable

books, reprinted in Pakistan, from the University of

Nebraska and Omaha, which the Ministry of Education

in Kabul favoured. NGOs in Pakistan and Afghanistan

however, who already used the BEFARe books, rarely

changed their materials and continued to use the

BEFARe books. In order to establish the value of the

BEFARe textbooks on both sides of the border, two in-

dependent experts prepared a study with the aid of the

UNESCO office in Islamabad. The BEFARe materials,

formal and non-formal, were given a positive evaluation.

BEFARe undertook measures to have school certificates

and teaching and learning materials recognised by the

Afghan authorities – initially without any success. The

shifting events in Afghanistan, associated with changing

power structures within the ministries, did not permit

this for a number of years. Decisions were not or could

not be taken by the Afghans, with the effect that school-

children and young people returning to Afghanistan

with the corresponding BEFARe certificates did not

have any legitimised documents. Schoolchildren who

attended the secondary schools run by CAR in the

camps or who wanted to attend secondary schools in

Pakistan were able to do so following a corresponding

test by the respective new class teacher. Pakistani

schools, however, long retained the right to only ac-

cept Afghan children when class sizes permitted this.

It was only in mid-2004 that the Afghan Consulate in

Peshawar, as the representative of the Afghan min-

istries of education and foreign affairs in Kabul, con-

firmed the recognition of certificates in compliance

with certain pre-conditions.

Ever since the creation of BEFARe the available teach-

ing personnel had been highly heterogeneous with re-

gard to pedagogic qualification. In addition to older

refugees from Afghanistan (with teaching certificates),

many younger refugees who had no prior training

were later also trained as teachers. These also included

Pakistani personnel, who – on the basis of a decree

from CAR – had to be deployed in virtual parity to the

number of Afghans.

The following objectives were set for the various

teacher training courses, divided into basic (10 days)

51

and refresher courses (5 days), as well as the voca-

tional and subject-specific further training measures:

– Consolidating and strengthening the pedagogic

knowledge of the teachers,

– Familiarising future and serving teachers with

BEFARe’s teaching and learning materials and the

corresponding teaching methods,

– Improving the teaching skills of teachers,

– Empowering teachers to plan teaching and learning

processes flexibly and in line with needs,

– Making teachers and head teachers familiar with

school and lesson management,

– Increasingly making teachers familiar with topics

such as mines, drugs, health, and peace education.

For new teaching personnel the basic courses included

general content on pedagogy, lesson preparation and

practical instruction (model lessons, micro-teaching).

From the mid-1990s onwards new content, for example

HIV/AIDS and environmental education, was integrated

into the further training for teachers.

In the 1996 project progress report Glatzer and Frommer

noted, however, that the teachers stuck too closely to the

BEFARe books in lessons (see also UNHCR-GTZ report

from 2002). This shortcoming could not be remedied to

full satisfaction by the end of the project. Many of the

Afghan teachers only had twelve years of school educa-

tion and had not completed their final teaching exami-

nations; thus they continued to require a narrow focus.

At the same time the “focal point” consulting established

by BEFARe in 1997 ensured a slow but sure improvement

in the confidence and professionalism of these teachers.

Above all it was older teachers who had difficulty in

shifting away from the traditional teacher-oriented

methods. “It is possible that the project has reached its

limits of improving the teaching methods, perhaps be-

cause of a deep-rooted contradiction between the per-

ceptions of learning and the objectives of learning in

Afghan and European education systems” (Glatzer und

Frommer 1996, 29).

From 2002 onwards – also in line with the recommen-

dations following the evaluation of the reimbursable

technical cooperation components conducted by UNHCR

– new pedagogic concepts with a specific orientation

to refugee children, were increasingly included in the

further training for teachers. In this respect particular

significance was attached to the psycho-social situation

of the children. The new content and further training

objectives were implemented in consecutive phases and

modules, and conveyed in a so-called cascade system:

1. Master Trainer,

2. Field Education Supervisors and head teachers and

3. School teachers for formal basic education as well

as teachers for non-formal education and literacy

measures.

Community mobilisation and development

The greater the extent to which the private sector,

NGOs, the department “Social Welfare Cell” within the

Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees, and the ref-

ugees themselves became involved in attaining qualifi-

cations for the establishment of capacities for the plan-

ning and implementation of basic education, the more

effective and sustained were the self-help activities on

the part of the refugees. As the communities helped to

determine the education and training needs and evalu-

ate the possibilities within the respective community

for the assumption of responsibility for some of the ed-

ucation measures, they were able to promote the im-

plementation of basic education. Active participation

and mobilisation enhanced the commitment of the

community towards realizing the desired objectives

and also encouraged them to demand education and

training services.

BEFARe’s main tasks in school-oriented community

mobilisation and development were:

– Ongoing further development and implementation of

the successful, sustainable community development

concept;

52

53

The phase concept of the new teacher further training

General Objectives

1. Provide education for all taking into consideration the interests of heterogeneous learning con-

texts and needs vis-à-vis economic, social, cultural and ethnic including cross-border demands.

2. Develop relevant values and attitudes in respect of the Afghan contexts both as refugees and re-

turnees.

3. Provide skills to enhance the full potential of the child especially of the girl child.

Specific Objectives

1. Develop skills related to learner-centred styles of teaching, focusing on problem-based approaches

emphasizing process skills related to divergent thinking.

2. Enhance the competencies related to holistic evaluation and analytical assessments.

3. Improve skills related to concept based teaching, learning and evaluation.

4. Develop stress management skills in refugee contexts and deprived environments amongst educa-

tional personnel.

Phase I

1. Mega trends in educational development: lessons to be learnt in refugee/deprived contexts,

2. Why refugee education? Issues and prospects,

3. Understanding the child in the refugee context.

Phase II

1. Positive teaching – positive learning in a refugee framework,

2. Direct instruction,

3. Effective teaching in a refugee context,

4. Concept approach to teaching – learning and why is it better for refugee children,

5. Problem based instruction and how it develops self-confidence amongst the deprived.

Phase III

1. Significance of evaluation under stressful conditions,

2. Stress management – role and functions of the head teacher.

Phase IV

1. Methods of identifying training needs,

2. Planning for practice in refugee schools.

– Motivation and mobilisation for the provision of re-

sources through regular visits, meetings, follow-up

meetings as well as periodical extra-curricular events

(Human Rights’ Day, Children’s Day, Refugees’ Day,

Teachers’ Day etc.;

– Community-related organisation development, capac-

ity building and support from SMCs.

As a consequence of these consultations and the posi-

tive example of the School Management Committees

the communities were prepared to

– Conduct improvements on the school grounds and

in the vicinity,

– Organize extra-curricular activities for the pupils

(sports, open day, music, poster and sports competi-

tions),

– Build classrooms and repair schools,

– Organize campaigns such as tree-planting and “anti-

litter/cleanliness days”,

– Drill wells for the schools and take care of the water

supply where necessary,

– Provide and create learning materials for lessons,

– Play a positive role in encouraging parents to send

their children to school on a regular basis.

By December 2003 functioning SMCs had been estab-

lished at all 320 schools; the SMCs had an average of

15 members. Thus it was possible to drastically reduce

drop-out quotas and the amount of time pupils were

absent from school. An internal BEFARe study from the

end of 2002 revealed that of the school drop-outs who

were not repatriated but remained in Pakistan, about

one sixth could be persuaded to return to regular

school attendance through the activities of the SMCs,

the Child-to-Child Groups, the “Old Student Groups”,

and not least of all through the CP&D department itself.

The reward for the endeavours of the SMCs and their

information work was a constant rise in the enrolment

quotas for girls:

– In 1996 there were 40 girls’ schools; by 2002 the fig-

ure was 75;

– In 1996 there were no co-educative schools; by 2002

the figure was 62;

– In 1996 there were no girls’ schools in southern

NWFP; by the beginning of 2002 the figure was

twelve, although there were still no girls’ schools in

the neighbouring Pakistani tribal areas. In 2002 a fur-

ther 19 new schools were opened in the south, ten

for girls and nine as co-educational schools.

The efficacy of the SMCs may be measured in terms of

the school-related activities and the volume of dona-

tions from neighbouring refugee (school) communities,

as well as the fees voluntarily imposed by many schools.

These amounted to five rupees per pupil per year; this

approximates to about six cents; very poor families

were exempted from these fees, however. In this man-

ner it was possible to collect a total of 2.56 million

Pakistani rupees in 2003, or about 42,600 euros. This

money was used for the construction of 108 additional

classrooms, for 27 verandas affording protection from

the sun, for 47 shallow wells with pumps, 55 toilets,

for repairs at 225 schools, for connection to electricity

supplies so as to allow for lighting in various schools,

and not least of all for the rental and lease of 18

schools and school compounds.

2.4 The BEFARe concept for peace education and conflict management

At an early stage BEFARe identified peace education

and conflict resolution and management as being the

key to peaceful understanding between the Afghan

refugees in the camps and as a basic prerequisite for a

future non-violent co-existence in Afghanistan. Not

only the children in the refugee communities, but also

the adults, were to acquire skills and abilities to cope

with daily life (life skills), values, modes of conduct

and attitudes which would lead to the full develop-

ment of the potential for co-existence. For the formal

basic education sector there was a total of 66 small

54

peace education teaching units, each lasting 40 min-

utes, in the school materials of grades one to six. The

content was included in the Community Participation &

Development Programme (CP&D).

Benefits and impact of peace education and

conflict management

In September 2003 BEFARe conducted a study on the

impact of peace messages in formal education. In this

manner it was intended to record the impact of the

BEFARe textbooks on the attitudes of pupils. The

pupils were surveyed on conduct among peers, at

home in the family, and in their social environment.

The SMCs were also included in the survey. The study

does not allow for any conclusions to be drawn on

changes in conduct and attitudes, however, as no com-

parative analysis was conducted.

The study was conducted in three stages:

– Review of the textbooks for peace education content

(in the broadest sense),

– Categorisation of the recorded peace messages,

– Interviews using structured questionnaires.

A total of 166 persons participated in the survey. Of

these 64 were schoolchildren in formal basic education,

36 were street children who did not attend school, 30

young people and 30 adults in non-formal basic educa-

tion, and six adults as representatives of the SMCs. The

surveys were conducted in the predominantly rural dis-

tricts of Timergara, Hangu and Abottabad. Although

the survey was not representative, it was still possible

to record the impact of school lessons on the attitudes

and conduct of pupils.

Results of the survey of children and young people

1. The majority of children and young people who do

not attend school (78%) are interested in attending

school. A large proportion of these children (22%)

have to help in the home however and contribute to

the household income. 72 per cent of the boys

would welcome their sisters attending school; the

majority of these girls do not go to school. Among

the reasons stated for the girls not attending school

were compliance with strict tribal rules, disapproval

of school attendance by the parents, and a lack of

schools.

2. Without exception children and young people show

respect for their parents, and above all for the father.

3. In response to the question of living together with

members of other ethnic groups and mutual help

among different groups 61 per cent of the children

and young people who do not attend school stated

that they do not live together with members of other

ethnic groups in the camp. There was no other indi-

cation about the state of the relations and co-exis-

tence. About half of the pupils at formal schools

stated that they do not live together with other clans;

here too there was no further explanation on co-ex-

istence.

4. Less than 11 per cent of the children and young

people stated that there is any form of conflict with

other children, when playing for example. The chil-

dren and young people stated that conflicts are clari-

fied by the parents as a rule.

5. More than half of the children and young people re-

ported disputes within the family.

6. The majority of boys (56%) reported that they have

been hit by teachers for having repeatedly missed

class, because of teasing in the classroom or not

paying attention during lessons. Three per cent of

the girls reported that they have been hit. Violence is

repeatedly applied – despite intensive further train-

ing for teachers. It was noticeable that older teachers

in particular tended to use this form of punishment.

55

7. Forty-seven per cent of the schoolchildren and five

per cent of the children who did not attend school

were prepared to mediate in disputes between chil-

dren and young people amongst one another.

Without exception the participants acknowledged

the benefits of participating in non-formal education

measures. “Twenty six percent male and twenty one

percent female respondents confirmed that they can

read and write since they attended the literacy

course. Similarly, ‘respect for others’ ‘increase in tol-

erance’ and ‘improved behaviour and attitude’ were

results attributed to their participation in the literacy

course by twenty two percent male and thirty one

percent female respondents. (…) These attributes

connected to the literacy courses as outcomes of

their participation are encouraging and impressive,

which would certainly help to promote peace and

harmony in Afghan society, when they are repatri-

ated,” states the study on this issue.

8. Eighty-three per cent of the surveyed group said

they would mediate in the conflict among children

in dispute. The rest would, moreover, advise both

parties for a longer period.

9. Fundamentally all of those surveyed were positive

about neighbourly help. There were some minor

shifts in opinion, dependent on the individual eco-

nomic position, on assistance with helping the sick,

transport to the hospital, getting medicines, over-

coming money problems, preparing food for the

needy etc.

10.A number of methods were regarded as suited to

solving conflicts. The traditional Afghan/Pakistani

conflict solution institution “jirga” was regarded as

the responsible institution. A “jirga”, which can com-

prise acknowledged representatives of influential

clans in the community, province or region, and

which can be traced back through time and in terms

of culture, is seen as an institution with a mediator

function.

With respect to the SMCs the study wanted to find out

whether there was any possible impact from peace-

building measures which could be traced back to the

intensive community mobilisation on the part of

BEFARe. This was indeed the case: “(The) majority of

the SMC members have been trained in different skills

such as motivation, organization, realization of task,

problem identification and its solution within the avail-

able resources. The members of SMCs integrate these

skills and knowledge in their own area to resolve con-

flicts and bring peace and harmony in the camp. For

example ban on aerial firing and conflict resolution

among students has become possible because of the

SMC, alumni and child to child group. Many other

problems are also solved by consulting the community

elders. In addition, the members of the SMC discuss

peace elements in hujra, mosques and in other social

gatherings, resulting in the development of a sense of

brotherhood, coordination and responsibility among

the people”.

In the interviews over 90 per cent of the SMC members

stated that they had learnt to listen to the other mem-

bers, to cooperate with them, to jointly assume respon-

sibility, to work in coordination with one another – in

brief: having created a basis for joint work. Their con-

tacts to pupils, parents, teachers, patriarchs, community

elders and other community members have improved,

stated the interviewees. They also saw improvements

in their social environment.

2.5 Unintended effects

As a result of the decree by the Pakistani Chief

Commissioner for Afghan Refugees that bilateral proj-

ects and projects run by international NGOs were to

be filled by equal numbers of staff from both nations,

there were complex conflict situations that could not

be remedied by the projects themselves. At the begin-

ning of 2000, for example, a leading and highly quali-

56

fied Afghan BEFARe employee was deported to Afgha-

nistan under suspicion of being a spy.

For a long time this incident prevented Afghan project

personnel from contributing freely and constructively

to decision-making processes and the projects. A lot of

effort had to be put in by the project management so

as to include Afghans in strategic project decisions on

possible future cooperations with Afghan NGOs and

the newly-created specialist ministries.

Not least of all, this incident damaged BEFARe in

Afghanistan. Ultimately a large number of events and

several visits by employees of Afghan institutions

(NGOs, consulate, and Ministry of Education in Kabul)

were necessary to repair the standing of BEFARe.

Although the predominantly two-year assistance phases

of BEFARe, with the exception of phase 5 at nearly 4

years, seem adequate for projects with an emergency

aid character, these often led to problems in the project

planning (strategy, networking and quality) and in the

cooperation with the partner organisations and the re-

imbursable technical cooperation partners.

As BEFARe was not incorporated into the state educa-

tion system, there was not enough planning security

to realise a long-term, extensive scheduling. Major

developments in terms of content – such as the study

and inclusion of international pedagogic standards

for the education for refugees – could only be attained

at considerable effort given the main task of looking

after 320 schools with some 110,000 pupils. The new

project objectives that had been included over the

years and the desired results placed such a burden

on staff that creativity and the introduction of innova-

tions often fell by the wayside (see Johannessen et

al. 2002).

At the same time the partners were repeatedly con-

fused by the short project phases, and at meetings re-

garding joint, more long-term planning it was repeat-

edly necessary to persuade others that BEFARe was a

reliable partner for long-term cooperation.

BEFARe’s basic education services for refugees in

NWFP had an unintended impact on the swift repatria-

tion of Afghans. The Commissioner (CAR) stressed in

2003 that many Afghans whose children had received

a relatively good school education in the camps during

their asylum years in NWFP increasingly regarded

education as an important prerequisite for shaping an

active life. These families would then very carefully

consider whether they should return to Afghanistan

as long as the children were of school age. In addition

to worries about jobs, the security situation and the

accommodation situation, school attendance was

a further major element in their considerations (see

also Glatzer and Frommer 1996, and Johannessen

et al. 2002).

BEFARe was responsible for creating a database with

the pedagogic career profiles of some 4,500 primary

school teachers working as teachers in NWFP and

Balochistan. While this database, which was intended

as a planning aid for the Ministry of Education in

Kabul as well as for provincial facilities and other edu-

cation NGOs active in Afghanistan, was acknowledged

by all the facilities, it has to date not been used by

the Ministry of Education. Joint workshops on the use

of the database were conducted with the support of

UNESCO and GTZ-IS/Kabul in Kabul, yet were only

attended by staff from NGOs.

Kabul reacted extremely reluctantly in response to the

potential of thousands of teachers with many years of

training who could more or less be recruited on the

other side of the border to rebuild the Afghan public

education system. The Ministry of Education in the

Afghan capital initially endeavoured to employ gradu-

ate teachers for the country’s school system. It was not

possible, however, to meet the major need for some

56,000 primary school teachers alone in the year 2003.

From mid-2004 onwards teaching staff from Pakistani

57

refugee camps (“BEFARe teachers”) were then allowed

to apply for accreditation with the Afghan consulate in

Peshawar for a teaching post in Afghanistan. Returning

teachers, also from overseas, normally have to undergo

a qualification examination in Kabul.

There was a similar situation with the recognition by

Afghan education agencies of school reports and ex-

aminations taken by returning children. A correspon-

ding agreement between the consulate and BEFARe

was signed in mid-2004. Repatriated primary school

graduates who wanted to continue their education in

secondary schools have to first pass a performance

test. If they pass this test, they may attend a secondary

school.

58

59


AG-BASEd Afghan German Basic Education

AWRC Afghan Women Resource Center

BEFARe Basic Education for Afghan Refugees

BMZ Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung

(Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development)

CAR Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees

CDAP/UN Comprehensive Disabled Afghan Programme/UN

CIDA Canadian International Development Agency

COPE Community Oriented Primary Education

CP&D Community Participation and Development

DFID Department for International Development

DG Drittgeschäft (Reimbursable Technical Cooperation)

EU European Union

FE Formal Education

FES Field Education Supervisor

GOA Government of Afghanistan

GOP Government of Pakistan

HRD Human Resource Development

INEE Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies

IRC International Rescue Committee

MCH Mother and Child Health

MIS/M&E Management Information System/Monitoring and Evaluation

MT Master Teacher Trainer

NWFP North West Frontier Province

NFE Non-Formal Education

NGO Non-Government Organization

PM&E Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation

RET Refugee Education Trust (under UNHCR)

SCF-US Save the Children (USA)

SMC School Management Committee

SWC Social Welfare Cell (in CAR)

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations



VUSAF Verein zur Unterstützung von Schulen in Afghanistan (Society for the support of schools in Afghanistan)

WB World Bank

60

2.7 List of resource materials

Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ):

“Pakistan – Länderkonzept”, August 2003

BMZ: Krisenpävention und Konfliktbeilegung, Gesamtkonzept der Bundesregierung

vom 07.04.2000, Bonn, August 2000

BMZ: Sektorkonzept: Förderung der basic education in Entwicklungsländern,

BMZ-Konzepte Nr. 106, Bonn, August 1999

Ekanayake, S. B.: Mega Trends and Challenges in Refugee Education, GTZ-BEFARe 2003

Ekanayake, S. B.: Education in the Doldrums – Afghan Tragedy, Islamabad 2000

Glatzer, B. u. G. Frommer: Report on the Project Progress Review for the Project Grunderziehung für afghanische

Flüchtlinge (Basic Education for Afghan Refugees) in Pakistan, GTZ, Eschborn 1996

Ropers, N.: Peace-Building, Crisis Prevention and Conflict Management – Technical Cooperation

in the Context of Crises, Conflicts and Disasters, Eschborn 2002

Johannessen, E. M., S. B. Ekanayake and U. Bude: Evaluation of GTZ – Basic Education for

Afghan Refugees (BEFARe) in Pakistan; prepared for UNHCR/GTZ, June 2002

UNHCR: Education – Field Guide, Geneva 02/03

Sinclair, M.: Planning education in and after emergencies, UNESCO/IIEP, Paris 2002

Save the Children: Education in Emergency – Save the Children Policy Paper

(download from homepage)

Sommers, M.: Children, Education and War: Reaching Education For All (EFA) Objectives

in Countries Affected by Conflict. Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Unit – Working Paper 1,

June 2002

Helmut Drechsler

Case study: Basic education for childrenand young people in Rwanda and Tanzania(1984-2001)

3.1 Introduction

Rwanda is one of the world’s poorest countries. The

small state in East Africa has a population of approxi-

mately eight million, with a density of 310 persons per

square kilometre. The country has no noteworthy natu-

ral or mineral resources; the mainstay of the economy

is agriculture. The majority of the population lives on

subsistence agriculture. That is no different today than

it was in 1994, the year of the genocide in Rwanda.

“In fewer than one hundred days a million lives were

wiped out, while all stood silently by and displayed

total indifference. South Africa was celebrating

Mandela’s election victory. In Europe the Allies had

landed on the beaches of Normandy exactly fifty years

earlier, paving the way for victory over the Nazis, and

had aroused the quiet hope that ‘that’ would never

happen again.” This is how the Rwandan authoress

Esther Mujawayo describes the genocide which she

had survived in her book.

As long ago as 1990 a war was smouldering between

the Rwandan government and the Front Patriotique du

Rwanda (FPR), ultimately culminating in the 1994

genocide. Neither the Arusha Agreement nor the pres-

ence of UN troops was able to prevent the escalation

of the political conflict between the various parties and

groupings in Rwanda. Under the Arusha Agreement the

FPR were promised seats in the government and in

parliament, it had already established itself in the par-

liament building with a delegation under UN protec-

tion. Trucks with chanting, rampaging and rioting

masses, decorated in the colours of “their” party were

rolling through the streets. The extremists in the MRND

had at this point already prepared lists for the system-

atic murder of opponents and were just waiting for a

suitable excuse.

This came about on April 6, 1994. The shooting down

over Kigali of the aeroplane carrying the presidents of

Rwanda and Burundi triggered the mass violence, the

genocide began. The FPR stepped up its attacks, the

military conflict shifted more and more towards south-

ern Rwanda. All these events triggered a mass exodus,

some left Rwanda for fear of being arrested as perpe-

trators, others for fear of the war.

Education promotion within the framework of German

technical assistance began ten years before the geno-

cide. It was not suspended during the genocide, but

transferred to the refugee camps in Tanzania and then,

as the situation eased somewhat, it was continued

again in Rwanda itself.

3.2 Overview of education assistance with Rwanda between 1984 and 2001

The education assistance began in 1984 with the

establishment and development of a mobile pedagogic

consulting service (Service Mobile d’Encadrement

Pédagogique, SMEP) for the further training of teaching

staff for practical lessons in grades seven and eight.

These practical lessons included technical subjects, as

well as agricultural and domestic topics. At this point

in time the primary level comprised eight school years,

which were sub-divided into three stages: grades 1-3,

grades 4-6, grades 7 and 8. Within the framework of

the structural changes Rwanda was urgently advised to

restrict the primary stage to six grades. Education re-

form ultimately led to grades seven and eight being

abolished. Thus the basis had been removed for the

SMEP.

Part 3

61

At the same time there was the risk for those complet-

ing the primary stage that their knowledge would be

restricted to a small number of topics in biology and

hygiene as the practical lessons had previously been

part of the now non-existent seventh and eighth

grades. The consequence was that the school reform

also included a revision of the curriculum. A new

subject was created – ‘Introduction to technology’

(‘Initiation à la Technologie’).

The “new” SMEP

The mobile pedagogic consulting service SMEP, which

was equipped and qualified at great expense and

effort, and which had a decentralised structure that

allowed it to function at prefecture level, was given

a new task: the further training of primary school

teachers in the subject “Introduction to technology”,

later STE – Sciences et Technologie Elémentaire,

(Elementary Sciences and Technology).

In 1992 the SMEP began with the development of a

concept for the new subject “Sciences et Technologie

Elémentaire” (STE). Sections of the draft curriculum

were tested, a “Nouvelle Méthodologie” (new method-

ology) with active learning methods was submitted in

draft form, the authors and trainers were qualified dur-

ing the development and testing of the materials. This

phase of the project ended in March 1994, the new

phase was due to begin in April. The curriculum for

STE was to be developed and the teachers given train-

ing for its implementation. Genocide and military con-

flict brought this project to an abrupt end. The project

was suspended for 19 months.

The work in the Tanzanian refugee camps

The years 1994 and 1995 are characterised by parallel

projects in Rwanda and Tanzania – something which

is extraordinarily significant for the political valuation

of the German development assistance, for conflict

management, and the initiation of reconciliation

processes.

At the end of April/beginning of May 1994 there

was a mass exodus from Rwanda to Tanzania. Some

600,000 Rwandans from the prefectures of Kigali,

Byumba and Kibongo were accommodated in eight

refugee camps in the Tanzanian districts Ngara and

Kagera. Among the refugees were approximately

80,000 children and young people of primary school

age. The education projects in the refugee camps were

aimed at preventing social dilapidation and helping

to alleviate the effects and consequences of refugees

having to flee their home country. An agreement be-

tween the Tanzanian government, UNHCR, UNESCO,

UNICEF and GTZ formed the legal framework for

this project, which began in July 1994 and ended in

December 1995.

Emergency aid and rehabilitation in Rwanda

In the second half of August 1994 the service office

of GTZ in the Rwandan capital Kigali resumed its work

on a provisional basis. The emergency aid measures

also included components for the education sector.

The German emergency aid in the education sector

supported the establishment of orphanages, ‘Children’s

Villages’ and schools with a high proportion of or-

phans. The focus was on the provision of beds,

chairs, tables, and above all food.

As of February 1995 an extra component – “Promotion

of basic education” – was included in the rehabilitation

programme for Rwanda. GTZ implemented this com-

ponent from March through to September 1995. An

initial objective was that of ensuring that the Ministry

of Education and its specialist institutions functioned

again and that teaching could resume. Above all,

buildings were repaired and teaching equipment and

materials delivered during this period.

62

Probably the most important task in this transitional

phase was the coordination of all the measures on the

part of German aid organisations in the education sec-

tor and the implementation of workshops with the

Rwandan Ministry of Education. These were necessary

as preparation for the resumption of project work in

the primary school sector and in the technical second-

ary education sector.

In November 1995 SMEP-STE resumed its work. This

was possible as the project objectives fundamentally

corresponded with the orientation towards education

policy and planning on the part of the ministry in

Rwanda and, just like the activities themselves, merely

had to be adapted in line with the current situation.

The main focus was to be on support for decentralised

structures in the further training of teachers. As no de-

cision had been taken at ministerial level on school

structures, the subjects to be taught and other curricu-

lar elements, the formulation of the project objective

was an open one: programmes, as well as teaching

and learning materials for STE (elementary sciences

and technology), were developed for grades one to

six and merely awaited their introduction. The project

was completed in December 2001.

3.3 Rwanda – 1991 to April 1994

The reform of the education sector – which was

adopted in 1975 and gradually implemented from

1977 onwards – produced not just positive effects,

but also a number of serious weaknesses. An un-

doubted success is the strengthening of the national

language in teaching. Kinyarwanda is the teaching

language in primary schools; its position has been

consolidated in the post-primary and secondary school

sectors. This measure did come in for some criticism,

however. Above all, intellectuals and parts of the

bureaucratic elite advocated the predominance of

French. A further success was the positive develop-

ment in the degree of qualification in administrative

and academic areas and institutions in the education

sector. However, the main objective of the school

reform, the enrolment of all school-age children in

the primary level, could not be attained.

The education reform and its impact

While it was possible to reduce the drop-out quota and

regional inequalities, in the school year 1989/90 only

74.1 per cent of all 7-year-olds were enrolled at school.

The net enrolment quota for all children of primary

school age was 62.2 per cent. Of ten primary school

graduates a maximum of four were able to attend sec-

ondary school. This situation exacerbated social in-

equality. Those with no access to primary school had

very little alternative but to remain in the countryside.

Those who did not manage to make the secondary

stage were more or less excluded from the modern

business sector and state administration when it came

to the selection of a professional career.

The abolition of the seventh and eighth primary school

grades had far-reaching consequences not just for the

primary level curriculum but also for post-primary

teaching. The disappearance of grades seven and eight

not only brought about a reduction in the number of

school years, but also led to lessons being less life-

and practice-oriented. The 1977 school reform had

shifted the practical lessons to grades seven and eight,

rather than orienting the entire curriculum towards the

real world, agriculture and technology from the very

first grade onwards. SMEP was located right at the

heart of this problematical situation.

A further education policy decision had to be taken

with regard to post-primary education, and in particu-

lar the CERAIs (Centre d’Enseignement et Artisanal

Intégré). In 1989/90 over 26,000 schoolchildren and

over 2,000 teaching staff in two to three centres per

commune were affected by this. The CERAIs were in-

63

stitutions with an academic character, reporting to the

Ministry of Education. One third of the curriculum in

the CERAIs was accounted for by general education

subjects, two thirds by subject-specific topics and prac-

tical vocational education. Girls were offered classes in

cookery, clothes-making, knitting and crocheting,

health and child care, as well as housekeeping; boys

were able to acquire skills as carpenters, bricklayers,

plumbers, electricians and welders, as well as in en-

gine repair and iron-working. All in all these facilities

were oriented towards the needs of the rural popula-

tion. Approximately half of the school-leavers remained

in rural areas, yet the innovations in agricultural pro-

duction were rarely initiated by these school-leavers.

With the abolition of grades seven and eight the

CERAIs were left up in the air.

A project audit on behalf of the BMZ led to a decision

not to support the CERAIs but to promote the develop-

ment of the curriculum for the first six school years

at primary level. The emphasis in terms of content

was to be on the subject of basic sciences, overall re-

sponsibility was to be with the further training unit

SMEP (Hanf, 73/74).

In 1991 the Rwandan government decided to transform

the CERAIs into CAPs (Centre d’Apprenntisage Pro-

fessionnel) with the aim of offering apprenticeships

in technical and industrial trades. This idea was later

discarded.

Essential components of the SMEP/STE project

During a workshop1 in September 1991 a general defi-

nition of the concept of “Introduction to technology”

was elaborated, and the general and specific objectives

drafted. To adapt the concept in line with Rwandan

primary school education, it was recommended that

the introduction to elementary technology be anchored

in terms of content as well as an integral methodologi-

cal approach.

The essential components of the project in the period

from January 1992 to March 1994 were:

– Revision of the character of the new subject

“Introduction to technology”, of the Profil de sortie

(description of the targets for graduates of primary

school), the objectives, the general education con-

tent, the range of subjects necessary for the primary

level, and ultimately the elaboration of the syllabus

and didactic materials;

– Elaboration of a concept for a “nouvelle méthodolo-

gie” in the primary stage and the further training of

teachers;

– Testing of the materials for STE, sensibilisation of the

school administration, teachers and parents, as well

as the general public.

Elaboration of the curriculum and didactic

materials

The directors of the DPEPERAI and SMEP gathered in-

formation together with a number of staff in Tanzania,

Kenya, Uganda, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso on

how elementary technology was taught in schools in

these countries. The results of these studies and the

evaluation of additional materials formed the basis for

the discussion and elaboration of documents with a

proposal character.

Two results are of particular significance for the reform

of primary schools:

1. In line with international tendencies and taking into

account the target of lowering the number of teach-

ing hours per week at primary level, and of harmon-

ising and disencumbering the teaching schedule, it

was possible to create an integrated combination of

subjects. The original idea, namely that of adding a

subject “Introduction to technology” to the 13 sub-

jects already in the schedule, was discarded. Instead

it was proposed that the subject STE (Elementary

Sciences and Technology) be created, covering the

former disciplines “Etude du milieu”, “Hygiène”,

64

1 The French description “seminar atelier” is indica-

tive of the working character of this workshop. The

objective was always the development of a product.

“Sciences” (only biology topics – environmental stud-

ies, hygiene and sciences/biology) and “Travaux

manuels” (manual labour) as well as content to be

integrated from the spheres of physics and chem-

istry. It was also examined how topics from the for-

mer practical lessons in grades seven and eight could

be simplified in didactic terms so as to include ele-

ments from handicrafts, agriculture and housekeep-

ing. An integrative subject was also proposed and

was ultimately included for a period of three hours

weekly in the teaching schedule for all grades.

2. Extensive problems were identified in Rwanda and

the area around the Great Lakes, for example en-

ergy, electricity, firewood, water, cleanliness, irriga-

tion, agriculture, seeds, soil, erosion, forests, popula-

tion development, family planning, disease, malaria

and AIDS. Proposals were developed taking into ac-

count these topics within the framework of STE

teaching and submitted to the ministry and relevant

specialist institutions for their comments.

This phase proved to be an education event for the au-

thors of the programmes and other didactic materials,

as they were invited to viewings and information events.

A number of committees sent their representatives di-

rectly to the events, which had a seminar character and

which were organised by SMEP and DPEPERAI.

Elaboration of a concept “nouvelle méthodologie”

The second essential component of SMEP/STE concerned

the elaboration of a “nouvelle méthodologie” concept

and the further training of teachers. In the run-up to

a seminar on the new methodology in April 1992 staff

from various school facilities observed some of the

elements of teaching methodology in 247 schools in

339 lessons and eight teaching subjects. Among other

things it was observed whether the teachers preferred

a very one-sided teaching methodology and which

methods were most successful in allowing teachers to

prompt pupils to actively learn. The evaluation of the

observations permitted a realistic insight into teaching

practice. Again it was staff from DPEPERAI and SMEP,

along with a number of teachers, who attempted to

define a “nouvelle méthodologie”.

This process was continued in July 1992 with a further

seminar on didactic concepts of pupil-activating teach-

ing. This formed the basis for adding the finishing

touches to the brochure “New methodology for pri-

mary school teaching in Rwanda”. The new methodol-

ogy was published in the SMEP magazine and then

tested in teacher training courses.

Testing of the didactic materials and

sensibilisation of the general population

The third essential component was the testing of the

STE materials (curriculum, didactic materials, teaching

aids, drafts of teaching plans), sensibilisation of the

school administration, teachers, parents as well as the

general population. In November 1992 two primary

schools were selected in each prefecture as pilot schools.

In agreement with the Inspecteur d’Arrondissement a

well-equipped urban school with qualified teachers

and a rural school were selected.

From April 1993 onwards five chapters from the teach-

ing aids and the corresponding didactic materials for

the STE subject were tested in grades one and four.

Generally the visits to the schools were associated with

meetings with the local mayor and parents’ representa-

tives. The latter frequently participated in the lessons.

The subject was received with interest; in a number of

schools pupils and teachers demanded more lessons of

this kind. Yet at the same time the lack of qualified

training on the part of the teachers became apparent.

Moreover, for some subjects there was a lack of didactic

materials, and some parents were worried that the new

subject was a return to the – now abolished –practical

lessons. Many of the parents had always had reserva-

65

tions about the bias towards agriculture and practical

lessons. The response from the test phase led to many

proposals and hints for the revision of the materials.

The qualification of the syllabus authors and trainers

led to the responsible elaboration of school policy doc-

uments. The objectives, the Profil de sortie (description

of the targets for graduates of primary school), the

range of subjects, the draft syllabus and the methodol-

ogy could be comprehensively substantiated. There

were, therefore, working instruments adapted to the

Rwandan school situation as the basis for ministerial

decisions. Primary school was to be oriented towards

life and work, and be of practical relevance for the real

world. Reform, with the methodical reorganisation of

teaching towards pupil-activating teaching methods,

was initiated.

The participative approach was important. Authors,

teachers, trainers, parents, school administrators, as

well as other ministries and environmental projects,

were involved in the elaboration of the documents.

In this respect it was not a question of ethnic or reli-

gious origin; the decisive factor was conscious and

open-minded participation. Likewise all the regions

of Rwanda were included, as were over-crowded city

schools and remote rural schools. No peace education

or crisis-preventive elements in the narrower sense

were anchored in the curriculum, but an education

policy conflict, namely the remoteness from everyday

life of primary schools, was defused. Significant devel-

opment problems in Rwanda were included in the

teaching materials, which were elaborated with the

participation of diverse population groups.

3.4 In the refugee camps of Tanzania –1994-1995

In April 1994 whole communities from the prefectures

Kigali, Kibongo and Byumba fled to Tanzania, above

all over the bridge at the border crossing point in

Rusomo. The first major column of refugees crossed

the bridge over the Kagera River on April 28 and 29,

1994. At this point in time the Rusomo border crossing

point was no longer manned by the Rwandan army

(Forces Armées Rwandaises, FAR). According to esti-

mates, between 100,000 und 200,000 refugees crossed

to Tanzania on these two days. After April 29 the

bridge was controlled by the FPR, but the exodus of

the Hutus did not come to a standstill. South and north

of the bridge the masses crossed the Kagera River in

pirogen, the boats typical of the area.

Benaco, a Tanzanian town 16 kilometres from the bor-

der at Rusomo, experienced a catastrophic situation

over a period of two months, caused by a continuous,

yet unpredictable, flow of refugees. On June 7, 1994

the official count was 230,000 refugees. In the course

of 1994 this number rose to 437,000 in the Ngara dis-

trict and to 160,000 in the Karagwe district in northern

Tanzania on the border to Uganda. In September 1994

the UNHCR put the number of Rwandan refugees in

Tanzania at 599,000.

It was not the first time that refugees had flooded

into Tanzania from neighbouring countries. Refugees

had arrived from Burundi as long ago as 1972.

Mozambicans sought refuge in 1980, and Rwandans

had earlier fled there in 1990. The Tanzanian govern-

ment knew how complex the planning would be

for these camps: international agreements, human

rights, environmental protection and the provision

of supplies had to be taken into account, to name

but a few points. In negotiations UNHCR secured

the temporary placement of the Rwandan refugees

in three camps in Ngara district (Benaco, Lumasi,

Musuhura Hill) and in 5 smaller camps in Karagwe

district.

UNHCR reacted very quickly. The immediate creation

of material and personnel structures was eased by the

fact that UNHCR and a number of NGOs had already

66

taken care of some smaller refugee camps in Rwanda

itself before the genocide, as well as in Lukole refugee

camp in Ngara district, which accommodated refugees

from Burundi.

As early as the beginning of July 1994 UNHCR signed

an agreement with the Tanzanian government on a

project for the provision of firewood. The GTZ was

commissioned with implementing the project in Ngara

district. This also ensured the protection and rehabilita-

tion of the savannah and the forests. With the partici-

pation of the Tanzanian population the GTZ also as-

sumed responsibility for the transport of firewood and

instructed the refugees in the construction and use of

improved stoves for cooking.

In July 1994 UNHCR, UNESCO, UNICEF, the Tanzanian

government and GTZ also signed the “Memorandum of

Understanding on Emergency Education for Rwandese

Refugee Children in Tanzania”. A “Management Unit”

was commissioned with the implementation of this

school programme in the three refugee camps. The

five refugee camps in Karagwe were taken care of

by a unit of the Irish NGO CONCERN.

The fact that a number of communities as a whole had

left Rwanda eased the commencement of education ac-

tivities since teaching staff as well as the pupils were all

to be found in the camps. This affected some 80,000

children of primary school age and 700 teachers. The

majority were familiar with SMEP-STE and some of the

materials from the project were also available.

In its work in the Tanzanian refugee camps GTZ was

able to avail of the specialist personnel working in

Rwanda. The relationships and contacts established

with the administration of the schools prior to the

genocide alleviated the inclusion of education assis-

tance into the emergency measures in Tanzania.

In the care provided for refugees in Tanzania education

promotion has proved its worth as a basic strategy. Ob-

viously it is necessary to provide shelter, food, suitable

hygiene conditions and medical care. But education of-

ferings should also be provided in the refugee camps

for children and young people so as to promote mutual

understanding, peace and tolerance, partnership-based

help in conflict situations, an enhanced attitude towards

the environment, social cohesion, maintaining health,

reconstruction of the economic viability of the family

and the community. Taking care of children and young

people of primary school age in the refugee camps

should be regarded as a humanitarian and cultural value

and considered a human right and indispensable task.

Essential components

Less than two months after the signing of the Memoran-

dum of Understanding, in September 1994 over 45,000

children were amalgamated in learning groups outdoors,

were encouraged to participate in sports and games, and

invited to participate in language classes. In December

over 77,000 children and young people were receiving

some three hours of daily lessons in Kinyarwanda,

arithmetic, hygiene (including biology and environ-

mental topics), games, sport, singing, dancing and

French; these lessons took place in tents or relatively

stable hangars and used simple teaching materials. This

pleasing set of circumstances was the result of a large

number of activities and major efforts on the part of

the Management Unit as well as the self-help groups.

In the following two components are to be analysed

in particular.

Component 1: Creating project implementation units

in each camp, initiating self-help groups, developing

infrastructure appropriate to the actual situation

Effectively initiating such a project means balancing

out the administrative processes and creative self-help,

and enhancing the independence of the self-help

groups as the project progresses.

67

UNHCR and UNESCO initially practised a demanding

and dominant management style. Obviously this was

a result of the general situation in the camps. The

Benaco camp was over-populated. Musuhura Hill was

systematically developed through the resettlement of

refugees from Benaco in compliance with the old

community structures in Rwanda. Furthermore, UNHCR

was forced to make a move. According to the Memo-

randum of Understanding, UNHCR was obliged to pro-

vide, in line with an education programme with emer-

gency aid character, tents for teaching purposes, but

their delivery was delayed.

UNESCO, in turn, wanted to organise the teaching on

the basis of the Teachers Emergency Packages (TEP)

which it had already developed. TEP is a blue box

which provides a pedagogical and teacher guide for lit-

eracy in Kinyarwanda and arithmetic (first and second

grade level) in book form. It also includes slate boards,

charts with the alphabet and the numbering system up

to one hundred, books, pens and chalk. The produc-

tion of these was also supported by GTZ in the form

of financial aid, UNICEF assumed responsibility for the

entire distribution of TEP. Although TEP had already

been presented in mid-September 1994 at the further

training courses for teachers, the materials could not be

supplied to the schools until much later.

The agreements between UNHCR and the respective

NGOs, which each laid down the management respon-

sibilities for one camp, were concluded at differing

points in time, and in the case of CONCERN for the

camps in Karagwe district not until October 1995. This

impacted on the work of GTZ, for only thereafter was

it able to conclude the agreements on the management

of the education measures with the NGOs concerned.

After all these prerequisites had been fulfilled, the fun-

damental resolutions adopted by the Management Unit

headed by UNHCR could be implemented. This unit

bore responsibility for the political, technical and coor-

dinative management of the education programme. A

Comitée de Coordination discussed the practical issues

of project implementation. The NGOs responsible for

the camp management were also represented on this

committee.

The consulting services of the GTZ focused, in close

cooperation with the NGOs, on the technical and or-

ganisational empowerment of the self-help groups.

This was necessary for four reasons:

– Firstly, in each camp a project implementation unit

had to be initiated by the Rwandans themselves and

brought to a working level.

– Secondly, the lessons could not solely be based on

the TEP, but had to include activities such as singing

and dancing, and topics such as ethics and hygiene.

– Thirdly, the participation of the refugees in the de-

velopment of the school infrastructure was indispen-

sable.

– Fourthly, in the creation of the Rwandan project im-

plementation unit one of the assumptions in the

Memorandum of Understanding had to be corrected.

In July 1994 the Memorandum had assumed there

would be about 40,000 school pupils, and it had also

been assumed that the infrastructure would be devel-

oped in an orderly manner with a uniform settlement

of the camps. This was not the case, however. In

September 1994 there were already over 45,000

pupils alone in the Benaco, Lumasi und Musuhura

Hill camps, distributed unevenly over the camps.

All the four tasks were to be mastered by initiatives and

proposals from the Rwandan administrative structures

in the camp and from the parents, and through the

bundling of the specialist competence of the teachers.

Originally it had been assumed that 10,000 pupils

would have to be taken care of in each camp. For this

reason ten schools were to be established in each

camp, with eight classrooms in each school. The per-

sonnel comprised a head-teacher, a psychologist, 16

teachers, a health advisor and two security staff. In co-

operation with the respective NGO, the school unit

68

was headed by a Programme Development Officer

(PDO) and his assistant at camp level. An implementa-

tion unit of ten schools employed 212 Rwandans there-

fore, who received remuneration from the project. In

working groups the job characteristics were elaborated

for each function on the basis of previous experience

and then put into effect as a binding working base by

the Comitée de Coordination.

GTZ concluded an implementation agreement with the

NGO Christian Outreach (COR) and UNHCR, as well as

with the Tanzanian government. In this agreement the

GTZ agreed to assume the financing of the entire logis-

tics and all the workers for the establishment of the in-

frastructure, including latrines and water supply, in the

schools, as well as the production of the blackboards.

UNHCR had difficulty providing the tents at the agreed

time, as one supplier was unable to deliver, and UNHCR

had to find a new source. When the tents had finally

been erected in Benaco, it turned out that they were

not suited to their purpose as they collapsed when it

was windy, thus making them a danger to the children.

For this reason it was necessary to switch over to sta-

ble hangars. The 400 hangars each comprised eight

easy-to-assemble parts with open sides, for which

Rwandan women had woven mats. The roof was made

of stable sheet metal. The hangars were relatively easy

to assemble, disassemble and transport under the guid-

ance of an expert. After the repatriation of the refugees

they could be used in Tanzanian and Rwandan villages

as mobile classrooms, quarters for women’s and chil-

dren’s groups, as workshops or sales stands.

The hangars were assembled by the parents of the

children and young people, who also took care of the

digging of latrines and levelling off the school area. A

school comprised eleven hangars. Each school had ten

classrooms, a room for the teaching staff and the di-

dactic materials, which were guarded at night by a

watchman, and a latrine complex.

By June 1995 six such school complexes had been

established in Musuhura Hill, eleven in Lumasi and

ten in Karagwe. In Benaco the replacement of the 13

tent complexes with hangars was not completed until

December 1995.

The establishment of the school complexes was

very time-consuming and there were not always

enough volunteers to hand. On the days on which

firewood and food were distributed the work had

to be suspended.

69

Camp Number of schools/teacher groups

Number of pupils

Benaco 13 21,252

Lumasi 11 18,505

Musuhura Hill 6 11,342

Karagwe1

10 21,253

total 40 77,352

1Note: The implementation units in Karagwe were comprised as follows: Kyabalisa 5, Omukaliro 1, Kagenyi 2, Rubwera 2.

Distribution of the 40 implementation units to the camps (as of 31.12.1995)

Component 2: Pedagogic care of children and young

people of primary school age

After protracted and in part controversy-ridden debates

the original plan of two-shift teaching was transformed

into a three-shift system. The number of pupils had dou-

bled from 40,000 to 80,000, yet there were neither teach-

ers nor didactic materials available in sufficient numbers.

The three-shift system meant that a pupil had 15 hours

of lessons per week, with three hours per day. One

day had to be kept free for the distribution of fire-

wood, food and water, and for other activities in the

camp, such as registration of the refugees and vaccina-

tion campaigns. Three teachers taught six classes with

at least 50 pupils each in two classrooms. In this man-

ner it was possible for each school unit to provide les-

sons for at least 1,500 children and young people. With

a two-shift system it would only have been 1,000.

Another matter of some controversy was formed by the

subjects to be taught. In an initial phase through to the

end of September 1994 the thematic activities outdoors

were somewhat sparse and haphazard. Yet coming to-

gether as a group to do sport, play games, sing, dance

and discuss behaviour and health created a relaxed

and pleasant atmosphere, which contrasted with the

monotonous and tough life in the camp and the bar-

barous events in Rwanda and whilst fleeing the geno-

cide. For this initial stage UNICEF provided various

materials such as balls and ropes.

At the beginning of September the PDOs began devel-

oping provisional lessons in ethics, hygiene and French

with experienced teachers as a supplement to the TEP.

The high percentage rate for TEP (nine and a half

teaching hours of a total of 15) in grades four to six

was controversial. The pedagogic concept of TEP was

only suited for the early school years as its main point

of focus is reading and writing. Nevertheless TEP was

also used in grades four to six. The teachers often

never opened the TEP box in the classroom, however.

The provisional teaching programmes, in contrast,

included topics suited to the situation facing each of

the grades, and had been amended in line with camp

life by the teachers themselves on the basis of the

Rwandan curriculum. In the subject hygiene this

meant, for example, that the organisation of hygiene in

the camp, in the school and in the family was dis-

cussed, as was bodily cleanliness, clean water and the

environment, common diseases in the camp, and the

use of the latrines. The subject ethics dealt with prob-

lems and conduct in the camp, in the school and in

the family, relationships to neighbours, human rights,

70

TEP (reading and writing inKinyarwanda, arithmetic)(as % of total lessons)

EthicsFrenchHygiene(as % of total lessons)

GymnasticsSingingDancing(as % of total lessons)

1-3 school year 70 20 10

4-6 school year 60 30 10

The teaching programme in the second phase (September 1994-December 1994)

international organisations in the camp, the meaning of

life, conduct towards people in the camp and towards

the environment, as well as pedestrians on the camp

roads, to name but a few topics.

Within the framework of further training the teachers

were introduced to diverse and varied methods: allow-

ing children to give reports, discussing behaviour, role

games, letting children draw and write, group discus-

sions, compiling and putting forward arguments, prac-

tising being tolerant, collecting material in the hospital,

inviting organisations to participate, and much more

besides. In general it was recommended that active

methods be preferred and a teacher-centred format be

avoided.

In a third phase, from around December 1994 on-

wards, the subject hygiene was expanded to include

biology and technical topics. Among these were, for

example, physical anatomy, blood circulation, plants,

forests, energy, firewood, improved cooking stoves,

sources of light and the petroleum lamp. All this took

place against the background of difficult conditions;

there was a lack of didactic materials, and in particular

textbooks. Some classes did not even have a black-

board. Furthermore, there was a lack of materials for

meaningful self-entertainment such as paper, pens,

scissors and chalk.

In December 1994 UNESCO was able to distribute

teaching aids and textbooks for Kinyarwanda and

arithmetic, something which eased and improved

the teaching situation. UNICEF and GTZ endeavoured

to reproduce materials on individual topics in other

subjects.

The entire process was not without its setbacks. The

conditions in the camps, the delays in the development

of schools, and shortcomings in the quality of the

teaching impacted on the interest of the target groups

in attending school. For a while school attendance

even fell.

The reasons stated by children and their parents for

non-attendance of schools were:

– Housework; the majority of children are responsible

for collecting wood and for boiling water;

– Lack of clothing and food;

– Lack of schoolbooks;

– No suitable classrooms (tents in Benaco) which pro-

tected the pupils from rain, strong sunshine and wind;

– Many children living alone have no principal carer

who spends time with them and their problems and

motivates them to attend school.

The further training for teachers was intensified; this

led to an improvement in the quality of teaching and

71

Camp September 1994 March 1995 Drop-outs

Number %

Benaco 15,363 13,257 2,106 13.7

Lumasi 17,362 14,498 2,864 16.5

Musuhura Hill 12,421 9,454 2,967 23.0

Total 45,146 37,209 7,937 17.7

School attendance in figures – September 1994 to March 1995

its organisation. In the months from September 1994

to June 1995 a number of further training courses were

conducted for head teachers and teachers. The topics

were:

– School organisation (job characteristics, schedule,

three-shift system),

– Syllabus for the subjects Kinyarwanda, arithmetic,

French, hygiene, ethics, sport, singing, dancing,

– Working with the didactic materials and the text-

books,

– Active teaching methods under camp conditions,

– Dynamics and motivation of groups,

– Pedagogic psychology and its practical application

in classes,

– Coming to terms with trauma.

The further training measures were jointly organised

and conducted by UNESCO, UNICEF and GTZ, whereby

the essential technical assistance came from the GTZ.

With the commencement of lessons in the refugee

camps with the same teaching materials and pro-

grammes as in Rwanda it was intended to ease repatri-

ation and reintegration. For in the period through to

March 1996 over 150,000 refugees had returned to

Rwanda from Tanzania, among them some 20,000

primary level pupils.

For its transfer under similar conditions Bird recom-

mended the application of a 3-phase model: “(1)

Recreational phase, (2) TEP phase, and (3) formal

curriculum phase.” (Bird 2003, 17). However, the TEP

phase was also to be expanded to include a number

of topics from hygiene, environmental studies and

ethics, as had already been practised in Tanzania.

Evaluation of the education work in the

refugee camps

The argument that the education offerings for children

had contributed to the refugees remaining in Tanzania

is invalidated by the fact that refugees did not leave

camps that did not have such teaching and education

programmes. A point in favour of the education offer-

ings and child care programme is the fact that these

alleviated the social conflicts in the Tanzanian refugee

camps, and also prevented major social conflicts with

the Tanzanian population.

The evaluation of such a project depends to a great ex-

tent on the political and social starting positions. Ulti-

mately it is a question of whether such a project should

be established for a heavily endangered target group

within the population of a specific country and whether

the project has the intention of consolidating the school

structures of a country. One has to consider whether

there can be humanitarian aid and support for people

in emergencies without facilitating abuse through the

reconstruction of state school structures. There is al-

ways a residual risk that indirect negative effects could

be generated with such a project, i.e. life is eased for

the perpetrators as much as it is for their victims.

The education projects in the Tanzanian refugee

camps were restricted to the primary level although

there was often a desire to expand the project to in-

clude the secondary school level. As the assumption

that the majority of refugees would return after just

a few months proved to be incorrect, it would indeed

have been necessary to give consideration to offerings

for secondary school pupils and to introduce elements

of vocational education.

The Memorandum of Understanding and the imple-

mentation agreement between the Tanzanian govern-

ment, UNHCR, UNESCO, UNICEF, GTZ and the NGOs

were indispensable as a political, legal, technical and

financial framework. In Bird’s estimation the effective

coordination by UNHCR and the coordinated approach

taken by the participating organisations had a positive

effect. There has to be a clear mandate, however,

with sufficient leeway for the provision of professional

services.

72

The equipping of schools with teaching and learning

materials under emergency conditions is a matter of

discretion. Under camp conditions a minimum equipment

level should be elaborated in all events (see INEE 2004).

UNHCR initially acted outside the camps on behalf of

the camps. Only gradually did an organisational structure

develop in the refugee camps with the participation of

the target group; this structure never attained full inde-

pendence, however (cf. Bird 2003, 21). The degree of

identification of the refugee organisational structure

with the education measures increased as the refugee

organisational structure became established and from

September 1995 onwards as UNHCR changed its stance

towards the refugee communities. The refugee commu-

nities themselves now assumed responsibility for the

refugee schools. A school in the camp now developed

into the camp school. Bearing this in mind, technical

assistance should from the very outset be aimed at in-

volving the target groups and realising a participative

approach. Following a detailed analysis of the Ngara

model Bird arrives at a corresponding recommendation:

“Refugee expertise should be capitalized upon and

management and coordination should reflect refugee

participation at all levels” (Bird 2003, 22). The high

reputation of GTZ among Rwandan teachers and par-

ents is primarily due to the active inclusion of the tar-

get group and the brokers in the elaboration and im-

plementation of the project concept.

It proved to be cost-favourable that two projects (“fire-

wood” and “education”) were able to use the same

materials. In particular under such difficult conditions

reliable communication – in this case between Ngara,

Kigali, Bujumbura and Dar es Salaam – is indispensa-

ble. Also indispensable is regular cooperation with the

local authorities in the host country and the creation of

jobs for workers and craftsmen in the host country so

that these can improve their incomes.

The education project in Ngara was extraordinarily ef-

fective. In an emergency situation 40 functioning units

were established for nearly 80,000 children and young

people without there being any material or structural

infrastructure already available. The costs were less

than one euro per pupil per month. The most impor-

tant result, however, was the fact that children and

young people were able to be helped to peacefully co-

exist in a school community.

3.5 The work in Rwanda continues

Following the genocide the institutions in the state of

Rwanda had generally collapsed. In comparison to the

pre-war period only about 20 to 30 per cent of the ad-

ministration personnel were available. The Ministry of

Education was no exception. Many of the top positions

were not filled and some were filled by former refugees.

The Secretary-General was from the pre-war period,

the director of primary schools came from Uganda, the

director for the secondary school sector from Burundi.

Many public buildings had been destroyed. The Ministry

of Education had no windows or doors, rain poured

in through the roof. Of 1,836 schools only 648 were

usable to some extent in October 1994; 1,188 schools

were in urgent need of repair (cf. Obura 2003, 47).

In the prefectures of Byumba and Ruhengerim alone,

which had been most badly-hit by the war, a total of

65,000 school benches had been destroyed.

Teachers and pupils had fled or been murdered. Around

three fifths of the teachers available for the primary

school level were not sufficiently qualified. In the sec-

ondary school sector there was a shortage of 900 teachers,

thereof 350 for arithmetic and sciences. (MINEPRISEC,

37 and 39). More than 941,000 primary school pupils

were waiting for lessons to begin (MINEDUC, 47).

According to the Ministry for Rehabilitation there were

608,000 refugees in Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire

(now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and else-

where, of whom the majority gradually returned

73

(Asche, 26). This presented a complex situation for the

school system. The children and young people came

from differing school systems and had spoken English

in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. There were pupils

who still had to relearn Kinyarwanda as a written lan-

guage. Attainable levels for examinations had to be

sought for all pupils alike.

The new school year was due to begin throughout the

entire country in January 1995. By way of political ori-

entation MINEPRISEC prescribed that as many Rwandan

children as possible be enrolled in all grades, that the

principle of equality be implemented, and that the

pupils be fostered exclusively in accordance with their

abilities (MINEPRISEC, 16).

These political targets raised hopes that it would be

possible to normalise the situation in schools in the

near future. In the 1995/96 school year it was possible

to teach more than one million primary school children,

nearly as many as before the genocide (MINEDUC, 47).

Despite being under-staffed and the fact that the

school sector had not been analysed to a sufficient de-

gree, MINEPRISEC – aided by UNESCO, UNDP and

German development assistance – presented a docu-

ment on emergency aid and the reconstruction of the

school system in Rwanda to the international donor

community in November 1994. In this document the

objective formulated for the primary school sector was

“giving pupils elementary knowledge and abilities that

allow them to understand their environment, to inte-

grate easily into the immediate environment, and to

play a positive role therein for themselves and society”

(MINEPRISEC, 18).

The education policy framework conditions convey

clear objectives. The Memorandum of Understanding

provided German development assistance with room

for manoeuvre and the possibility to provide support.

In this phase it was primarily a case of helping the

Ministry of Education and the schools to perform their

administrative tasks and resume lessons.

When the Memorandum of Understanding was signed

in July 1994 for a project in the refugee camps in

Tanzania, the new government in Rwanda had com-

menced its work. In August the GTZ office was

opened in Kigali, the coordinator for the education

sector met for initial talks with the Ministry of Educa-

tion and international organisations in the Rwandan

capital in September 1994. The German Embassy was

the first foreign consulate to resume its official functions.

This commitment was praised by Rwanda’s Prime

Minister Pierre Célestin Rwigema during a state visit to

the Federal Republic of Germany in November 1995.

From emergency aid to the resumption

of project work

The Germans reacted very quickly and offered the new

government of Rwanda their assistance parallel to the

education projects for Rwandan refugees in Tanzania.

An emergency relief measure, which also included a

component for education assistance, had begun as

early as September 1994. Within the Rehabilitation

Programme Rwanda GTZ was commissioned with the

implementation of a component, “Promotion of basic

education”. In addition, funds were available for mate-

rial goods.

All this required stable structures in the education sector,

for which the development-oriented emergency relief

also helped lay the foundations. The first emergency

aid measures in 1994 following the human catastrophe

in Rwanda were aimed at alleviating hardship and sat-

isfying basic needs. The German emergency aid in the

education sector supported the establishment of or-

phanages, Children’s Villages and schools with a high

proportion of orphans. Asche and Pieck summarised

the emergency aid measures as follows: “About a

dozen houses or orphaned children and children who

had become separated from their parents were swiftly

and unbureaucratically provided with various measures

to meet their urgent needs. These were local subsidies

74

and material goods. At the beginning of November 345

bunk beds had been delivered to six orphanages, in

part with blankets and bedclothes. A large amount of

children’s clothes and shoes were distributed by Action

Nord-Sud. Other measures ranged from building re-

pairs, allowances for orphans in families, building

sheds for smaller livestock, fencing for buildings, the

repair of classrooms, and food relief, through to a

larger construction measure to establish a centre for

traumatised children in Remera-Ruhondo” (1994, 10).

A further objective of the assistance was that of restor-

ing the Ministry of Education and its specialist institu-

tions to a working state. Thus buildings were repaired,

the electricity supply repaired and generators were in-

stalled. The provision of a functioning photocopier al-

lowed for the reproduction of the first school policy

guidelines.

The most important of these was the resumption of

lessons. Special assistance was provided to those

schools which had been selected by the Ministry of

Education as project or consultation schools. Likewise

to the schools in the prefectures which had either

been badly-hit by the war (this applied to Byumba)

or which ranked among the most under-developed

regions (for example Kibuye), and to those which

expected the rapid return of refugees from Tanzania

(Kigali and Kibungo). Thus St. André, the largest

school in Kigali, and the nursing school in Rutongo

within the area covered by the DRIM project were able

to resume teaching quickly thanks to the delivery of

school furniture and the repair of rooms. Muhima tech-

nical school was provided with a toilet complex. In

three other technical secondary schools the electrical

installations and the sanitary facilities were replaced,

and classrooms, dormitories, kitchens and refectories

repaired. These technical secondary schools were able

to resume teaching at an early stage. Assistance for vo-

cational education in technical secondary schools in

the prefectures Kibungo and Nyanza were a clear indi-

cation of an upward trend in the school system.

The sudden collapse of school operations in April 1994

also involved the risk of a complete school year being

lost. Those primarily affected were those due to gradu-

ate from secondary school and the examination candi-

dates in the sixth grade of primary school. For this rea-

son, German technical assistance helped conduct a

crash course for the examination classes in secondary

schools. Five schools in Kigali, Butare, Nyanza and

Rwamagena received allowances in the form of teach-

ing materials, food for the pupils, and salary al-

lowances for the teachers. An année blanche – the

missing year threatening secondary schools due to the

military events – could thus be avoided.

The German development assistance supported the

conducting of examinations in primary schools after

the war, with the printing of the exam books in

Germany being financed. The examination documents

were printed in the languages Kinyarwanda, French,

English and Swahili in order to take into account the

shift in the composition of the schools. The exams

were to offer all the participants the same opportuni-

ties free from ethnic, religious and regional prejudices,

and only take into account the actual achievement.

Thus it was possible to guarantee a high degree of se-

curity in the implementation of the examinations.

Anonymity was preserved during the marking stage.

Furthermore, seminars were conducted for the inspec-

tors, and also a seminar at which representatives of

various institutions and school facilities from every re-

gion developed new subjects and a new teaching

schedule for primary schools.

In mid-1995 the concept began to take on shape, facili-

tating a seamless transition from emergency aid to

structure-forming technical assistance. In June 1995 two

planning workshops were held with the Ministry of

Education, in which principles were developed for co-

operation in the primary school system and in the tech-

nical secondary school sector. In this respect, the question

arose as to whether the SMEP project, which had been

75

in place in Rwanda before the war, should be resumed.

The priority of the project was called into doubt as the

composition of the teachers and pupils had changed

and the school administration had been replaced with

new staff to a large extent. Nevertheless the planning

workshops arrived at the following conclusions:

1. The continuation of STE-SMEP is in compliance with

the orientation of the conference on education policy

and planning in Rwanda from April 1995.

2. The project has to amend its objectives and activities

in line with the current situation in schools. The cur-

ricula for all subjects should be amended in line with

the new situation; the further training of teachers and

the school administration was seen as being a matter

of urgency.

Yet it was not only the fundamental education policy

changes in Rwanda which permitted the resumption of

the project. The overall education objective for Rwanda’s

primary and secondary school sectors also complied

with the principles of German development assistance:

“Schools have to bring forth people free of ethnic, re-

gional, national and religious prejudices, who are

aware of the rights of man and the obligations towards

themselves and others and society, and are also aware

of their being part of an international community”

(MINEPRISEC, 16).

The curriculum for STE was also to be revised, tested

and amended, as were the corresponding didactic

materials (teacher guides and textbooks). Taking into

account the totally new composition of the staff at all

administrative levels and in the teaching staff it was

primarily a question of their qualification and peda-

gogic empowerment.

Link between technical and financial assistance

In the phase from November 1995 to December 1998

STE-SMEP was able to avail of funds from the technical

and financial assistance provided by GTZ and KfW

within the framework of a cooperation project. Thus

favourable conditions had been created for the devel-

opment of teaching materials and the further training

of teachers.

In July 1996 it was possible to submit teaching program-

mes for the subject STE in the grades one to six in the

languages Kinyarwanda and French. In October 1996

these were approved by the National Commission and

put into effect. They were then translated into English.

The textbook authors were prepared for their work in

a number of seminars, the first teacher assistance man-

uals went into print in 1998, and the first textbooks

were published in the following year.

In September 1997 the Ministry of Education laid down

a structure for the training and further training of

teachers. In each prefecture an Ecole Normale Primaire

(Teacher Training Center) was selected, which was to

be responsible for the training of the primary school

teachers, as well as for the further training of the

teachers in the primary schools in the prefecture. STE-

SMEP aided this new structure. Among other things

this aided the integration of the former refugees in the

new prefecture of Umutara. Extensive technical and

pedagogic support had to be provided at the Ecole

Normale Primaire in this prefecture.

After the preliminary work had been concluded it was

possible to offer further training to all the 23,000

Rwandan primary school teachers in the subject STE

with the requisite didactic materials in 154 school cen-

tres. In each case a primary school was selected as a

further training centre so as to facilitate access for all

teachers; this was important for the rural areas above

all. These 154 centres were provided with special

equipment within the framework of financial assis-

tance. With this decentralised network it was possible

to reach all the teachers in the schools easily; the Ecole

Normale Primaire was increasingly acknowledged as a

pedagogic knowledge unit in Rwanda. And the educa-

76

tion sector had a decentralised further training structure

for teachers.

STE-SMEP provided various services for the profession-

alisation of the staff in the Ministry of Education:

– Seminars,

– Coordination of all activities,

– Inspection of schools,

– Technical equipment for the departments,

– Radio programmes, reflection days,

– Workshops for the elaboration of school policy docu-

ments etc.

STE-SMEP advised and assisted the Ministry of Edu-

cation in the selection of material goods which had

been made available within the framework of financial

assistance. In June 1995 the GTZ agreed on the follow-

ing basic principles for the use of the material goods

with the four responsible directors in the Ministry of

Education:

1. Improvement of scientific and technical education in

the primary and secondary school sector and support

for the training and further training of teachers in the

primary school sector. It was possible to secure sup-

port from other organisations for the equipping of

schools with furniture; it was also possible to avail of

local parents’ initiatives.

2. The support in the primary school sector from

Germany was greater than that in the secondary

school sector; 60 per cent of the budget was ac-

counted for by primary schools, 40 per cent by sec-

ondary schools. The aid was primarily accounted for

by the supply of laboratories for secondary schools.

The aid was used to enhance the efficacy of ongoing

projects.

3. A further principle concerned the selection of re-

gions and schools. It was agreed that the materials

would be distributed equally to all prefectures in the

secondary school sector and that the same equip-

ment would be delivered to all primary schools in

the country regardless of their size. Thus smaller

schools were at an advantage.

With the second shipment of goods it was possible to

correct this, taking into consideration the number of

pupils. Now it was possible to take greater account of

prefectures such as Gisenyi, Ruhengeri, Byumba which

had been badly hit by the war, and likewise the pre-

fecture of Umutara, which was still being established;

larger schools were able to be given more materials.

The effective distribution of goods to the value of

around four million euros demanded a thorough sector

analysis, the formulation of priorities and the laying

down of areas in the education sector to be given pref-

erential treatment, the establishment of principles and

criteria for the selection of favoured institutions and

schools. The costs for the coordinating activity – also

in agreement with international organisations and other

donors – are very high in this phase. Flexibility, pa-

tience, a willingness to make compromises, suitable ar-

guments, convincing specialist knowledge of the con-

crete school situation, understanding for perceptions

formed from political necessities and pressure from the

population, and much more besides are indispensable.

Thanks to the emergency aid measures it was possible

to create an almost seamless transition to technical as-

sistance in the education sector. STE-SMEP was able to

commence its activities in October 1995 in repaired of-

fices and with new furniture and technical equipment.

When the project “Support for technical secondary

schools” (ETO) commenced its work there were four

functioning schools.

To summarise the following conclusions may be drawn:

1. It is fundamentally possible to resume an education

project following far-reaching political and social

changes if it covers the needs of a large population

group, is guided more by socioeconomic necessities

rather than feeling obliged to the political interests of

individual elites, and if it is oriented towards a group

of persons which can make an important contribu-

tion to the development of the sector; in this con-

crete case the further training of teachers.

77

2. It is recommended that interim stages be integrated.

Such a transitional phase has the task of fulfilling the

basic prerequisites for the resumption of the project.

3. The desired results have to be put into perspective

vis-à-vis the pre-war phase, amended in line with the

new situation, and planned in the longer term. In

Rwanda it was not possible to begin with the further

training of all 20,000 teachers before functioning de-

centralised further training had been established. The

situation initially required more value being attached

to the sensibilisation of the population for the new

subject STE before it could be introduced in schools.

The development-oriented emergency aid and the re-

sumption of assistance in Rwanda clearly illustrate that

in an initial phase it was possible to alleviate the hard-

ships faced by endangered target groups. The mea-

sures promoted peace and alleviated crises as they en-

couraged hope. As teaching returned to normality in

many schools and the quality of the teaching improved

as a consequence of improved equipment and teacher

further training, Rwanda motivated its refugees to re-

turn to their home country. The project work created a

tangible base for a fresh start.

3.6 The STE-SMEP project – 1997-2001

In September/October 1997 the progress of the project

was monitored; this was followed by a planning semi-

nar. It was recommended that the project be continued

for a further three years. This time was required to

integrate all the components of the project into the

Rwandan school system. In this respect the project

was to focus on two areas which had not yet been

developed to a satisfactory degree:

– The management capacities of the Ministry of Ed-

ucation were to be improved so as to guarantee the

sustainability of the measures after the conclusion

of the assistance.

– The further training of primary school teachers in

the use of the didactic materials and active teaching

methods in the subject TOS still had to be intensified.

In February 1998 the Secretary-General of the Ministry

of Education approved the establishment of a Coordi-

nation Committee. Thus the project implementation

was improved. The directors for Studies and Planning,

Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, Personnel Devel-

opment and Teaching Planning Centre were members

of this committee. The section “Science” within the

Division for Primary Schools in the Teaching Planning

Centre (CNDP) and the Division for Teacher Further

Training in the department for personnel development

were provided with intensive support by the project.

The majority of activities were conducted together with

these two facilities. There were temporary joint activi-

ties on special issues such as examination preparation

in the subject TOS, monitoring in the schools and ped-

agogic training in the ENPs, and there were agreements

with the CNE (National Centre for Examinations), in-

spectorate, Division de l’Enseignement Pédagogique

and the Division for Primary Schools. The project was

also integrated in diverse ways into the structures of

the education sector, with the effect that it was able to

provide advice in many areas.

In September 1997 the Ministry of Education submitted

a new concept for decentralised further training, in

November the requisite administrative regulations were

approved and discussed with the institutions involved.

This concept foresaw the appointment of an educa-

tional facility in each prefecture – later the prefectures

were renamed provinces – which conducted both the

basic training as well as further training of the primary

school teachers. STE-SMEP supported this new struc-

ture and conducted the further training of the primary

school teachers within this decentralised structure.

TOS was initially the only subject for which there were

regular further training events. Later it was possible to

provide further training measures together with other

subjects in the primary school sector.

78

At each of the teacher training facilities, i.e. one ENP

per province, three teachers functioned as “brokers” in

the further training for the primary school teachers.

These three brokers at the ENPs, assisted by other

teachers at their school and by the responsible inspec-

tor for the province, conducted the further training

events for the 154 Animateurs Pédagogiques (train-

ers), who in turn conducted the further training for all

teachers in their school sector in the 154 selected

school centres.

Thus the old structure of the Service Mobile d’Encadre-

ment Pédagogique (SMEP) had finally been broken up;

this body had to a certain extent developed itself

within the existing organisational structure and led

considerable costs in terms of personnel and finances.

The advantages of the old structure were certainly its

mobility and the administrative proximity to the

Inspecteur d’Arrondissement. At the same time the

school administration enjoyed rapid access to this con-

sulting service and was able to use the service for

other purposes than that originally intended.

The new structure enhanced the teacher training cen-

ters, making them scientific-pedagogic centres in the

prefecture. The Animateurs Pédagogiques in the school

sectors and the teachers enjoyed technical and pedagogic

help rather than administrative assistance. However,

new conflicts were also created with this new structure:

The teacher training centers and the 154 school centres

required more equipment and greater promotion of the

teaching personnel. The appointment of a graduate

teacher with sufficient pedagogic experience as an

Animateur Pédagogique fuelled competition among the

teachers as such a position was also associated with

a slightly higher income. In addition, many decisions

were delayed, something which led to greater insecu-

rity and uncertainty.

The BMZ re-evaluated the German Development Co-

operation with Rwanda in 1998. The education assis-

tance was also the subject of an audit, in particular

with respect to its development policy efficacy and the

issue of whether it alleviated or exacerbated a crisis.

With respect to STE-SMEP the experts arrived at the

following conclusion:

“Following the Sector Analysis Education Study there

can be no doubt that this project is a reaction to an

overriding development policy need. In the event that

the project is a success there will no longer be the lack

of practical relevance that has often been attested to

the primary school sector, something which will and

can lead to a direct improvement in living standards in

the hills if the children who have received such an ed-

ucation develop even just a minimum of initiative (...)

The woefully low training status of the primary school

teachers can be improved through the intended training

and further training measures. Naturally, on the other

hand it is also clear that the project is a form of (nec-

essary) repair mechanism, namely the belated improve-

ment in the training of teachers, who should never have

been employed at all if strict quality standards had been

applied. The alternative, however, would have been a

delay in the reconstruction of the primary school sector

for a number of years, something which would have led

to considerable frustration and which would have been

impossible to continue in political terms (…) As with

other projects that have been analysed here it is difficult

to attribute an impact (to a decrease or increase in ten-

sion) in one direction or another to the isolated project

(STE-SMEP). The technical-vocational education is, in

principle, politically indifferent; with an improvement

in the living standards through the use of the acquired

abilities and skills, however, the whole problem of re-

source conflicts comes into play on a sustained basis.

In contrast to the popular thesis an ‘improvement in

living standards and rapid economic growth do not by

any means lead to a general reduction in social and

distribution conflicts (...) In this respect the project has

to be regarded ambivalently with a view to its reduc-

tion in tension (...) The considerations regarding the

neutrality of the tension reduction or increase of the

SMEP project are, however, subject to the reservation

79

that the final examinations at primary school, as has al-

ready occurred a number of times, will still be very

performance-based even after the withdrawal of the

foreign assistance” (Wolff and Mehler 1998, 51/52).

STE-SMEP had the intention of improving the quality of

human resources at the leadership and broker level,

and above all for the target group. It was the intention

of the project to create such ‘positive’ conflicts. A proj-

ect cannot promote peace if it avoids conflicts; it can,

however, have a crisis-prevention impact if it provides

solutions for conflicts. STE-SMEP can enhance under-

standing for processes in the social and natural envi-

ronment. This large group was also able to increase

tension and pressure in a positive sense, it was able to

make justified and well-advised use of its democratic

rights, and thus influence the decision taken by the elite.

In 2001 some 75,000 pupils left primary school, around

one third were able to attend a secondary school. For

many of these children the practice-oriented education

facilitated integration into the diverse activities required

to master the actual life circumstances and the en-

hanced scientific knowledge and skills that had been

acquired permitted successful education in the second-

ary school sector.

Thanks to its technical basis and design the subject

TOS provides an orientation aid in socioeconomic and

socio-cultural areas. In this respect the content of the

subject TOS is binding for boys and girls alike.

It is desirable not to simply convey factual knowledge,

not to simply provide general environmental and

health education, but to link these to the existing qual-

ities and problems of life, and to tie these in with the

main problems to be solved in a country or region.

In July 2001 the project was transferred in full to the

Rwandan partner as the most important objectives had

been attained. The textbooks had been developed,

printed and distributed, the financing of further print

runs secured.

80

81


BMZ Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung /

Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

CERAI Centre d’Enseignement Rural et Artisanal Integré

CNDP Centre National du Développement des Programmes

CNE Centre National de l’Examen

DPEPERAI Direction des Programmes de l’Enseignement Primaire et d’Enseignement Rural et Artisanal Integré

DRIM Développement Rural Integré Murambi

ENP Ecole Normale Primaire

ETO Ecole Technique Oficielle

EZ Entwicklungszusammenarbeit

FPR Front Patriotique du Rwanda

FZ Finanzielle Zusammenarbeit (Financial Cooperation)

GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit

IIEP International Institute for Educational Planning

INEE Interagency Network for Education in Emergencies

MINEDUC Ministère de l’Education

MINEPRISEC Ministère de l’Enseignement Primaire et Secondaire

MRND Mouvement Révolutionnaire National pour le Développement

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

PDO Programme Development Officer

SMEP Service Mobile d’Encadrement Pédagogique

STE Sciences et Technologie Elémentaire

TEP Teacher Emergency Package

TZ Technische Zusammenarbeit (Technical Cooperation)

UN United Nations

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization



82

3.7 List of resource materials

Asche, H.: Rwanda. Die Produktion eines ethnischen Dramas, Institut für Afrika-Kunde, Hamburg, 1995

Asche, H. u. P. Pieck: Hilfsmaßnahmen für die Rwandan refugees, Eschborn, 1994

Bird, L.: Surviving school. Education for refugee children from Rwanda 1994-1996, UNESCO/IIEP, Paris, 2003

Bolz, R. u. H. Drechsler: Auf vielen Wegen aus dem Elend: Deutsche Hilfe für Rwanda, GTZ, Eschborn, 1995

Bundesstelle für Außenhandelsinformation: Rwanda. Kurzmerkblatt, 1992

Drechsler, H.: Von der Flüchtlings- und Nothilfe zur Wiederaufnahme planmäßiger Projektarbeit

im Bereich Erziehung/Unterricht in Rwanda, Kigali, 1997

GTZ (ed.): Entwicklungsorientierte Nothilfe (EON). Flüchtlingsprogramme, GTZ, Eschborn, 2001

GTZ (ed.): Friedensentwicklung, Krisenprävention und Konfliktbearbeitung, GTZ, Eschborn, 2002a

GTZ (ed.): Lernen für Frieden und Zukunft, GTZ, Eschborn, 2002b

GTZ (ed.): Kinder, Krisen und Kanonen, GTZ, Eschborn, 2003

Hanf, Th. u. J. H. Wolff: Das postprimare Bildungswesen in Rwanda, Studie, 1992

INEE: Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction, Paris, 2004

MINEDUC: Etude du Secteur de l’Education au Rwanda, Kigali, 1997

MINEPRISEC/SMEP/DPEPERAI: Les techniques d’élaboration des curricula, Mars 1992a

MINEPRISEC/SMEP/DPEPERAI: La nouvelle méthodologie appropriée à l’école primaire au Rwanda, 1992b

MINEPRISEC: Document de travail du Séminaire sur l’Assistance d’Urgence, et la Reconstruction du

Système Educatif au Rwanda, Kigali, 1994

Mujawayo, E. u. S. Belhaddad: Ein Leben mehr, Wuppertal, 2005

Obura, A.: Never again: educational reconstruction in Rwanda, UNESCO/IIEP, Paris, 2003

Sinclaire, M.: Planning education in and after emergencies, UNESCO/IIEP, Paris, 2002

Weber, H.-D.: “Die Deutschen halten ihr Versprechen”. In: Generalanzeiger vom 2.12.1995, p. 8, 1995

Wolff, J. H. u. A. Mehler: Evaluierungsbericht Deutsche EZ mit Rwanda, Bonn, 1998

Deutsche Gesellschaft fürTechnische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ ) GmbH

Dag-Hammarskjöld-Weg 1-5Postfach 518065726 EschbornTelefon: ++49 (0)61 96 79-0Telefax: ++49 (0)61 96 79-11 15Internet: http://www.gtz.de