Education is a basic human right and essential protection measure in situations of displacement. Quality education saves lives by providing physical protection from dangers and exploitation often present during displacement. Education can convey life-saving information to children and their families, strengthening survival skills and coping mechanisms which can be essential during displacement.
Schools and other learning spaces can act as entry points within the camp for the provision of essential support such as protection, nutrition, water and sanitation and healthcare. Camp Management Agencies should work with service providers to support coordination and encourage cross-sectoral efforts to keep children and youth safe and protected.
Working with the national authorities, education service providers and the Education Cluster/Sector, the Camp Management Agency must negotiate access to local schools for displaced children and youth or ensure that education programmes are provided within camps.
The location of learning spaces within the camp is a key decision that the Camp Management Agency should oversee. A badly located school can lead to low attendance or drop-outs and cause protection concerns, injury or even death.
Effective education during displacement is only possible with active and inclusive community participation. The Camp Management Agency should ensure that Community Education Committees, or other parent-teacher or school management associations, are established if not already in place, are fully supported and engaged in educational provision.
In situations of displacement, girls and boys, young women and young men, children with disabilities and members of other vulnerable groups can face particular protection risks. The Camp Management Agency should work with education and other service providers to ensure the needs of all children and young people are met. Regular disaggregated monitoring of attendance and completion rates and out-of-school children and youth should be undertaken in order to identify barriers to education and any associated protection concerns.
Using school facilities as collective centres should be avoided. If this is absolutely unavoidable, the Camp Management Agency must take steps to ensure the protection of children and mitigate the negative impact on community relations and education facilities. Clear deadlines should be agreed at the outset for the transfer of the school property back to its intended purpose.
The Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery of the International Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) are internationally agreed standards providing a framework for quality education responses during displacement. In conjunction with any relevant locally agreed standards, the INEE Minimum Standards should be explicitly referred to in camp coordination processes as well as in proposals developed by service providers, and in assessments, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation phases of any education intervention in a displacement scenario.
