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• 1 2021-05-21T00:50:31-04:00 Policy Brief- Ministry of Education Ethiopia 12 Advocacy Material #1 plain 2021-05-21T03:49:18-04:00

  Securing Education for Tigray Learners

  
  Key Points:
  1.As a result of armed conflict in the Tigray region which broke out in November 2020, 1.4 million Ethiopian children have lost their access to education.
  
  2.The Ethiopian Ministry of Education authorized the reopening of schools after Covid-related closures but 2,221 primary schools and 271 secondary schools in Tigray remain closed due to damage and occupation by parties to conflict.
  
  3.Humanitarian organizations providing aid to education in Tigray face a severe shortage of funding. $10.9 million is required to provide temporary learning packages to learners and psychosocial training to teachers. 
  
  Introduction
  This policy brief presents key points regarding the interrupted education of children in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, makes a case for the handling of education as top priority, and summarizes policy recommendations for the Ministry of Education. Based on findings reported by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Action (2021), we know that 1.4 million Ethiopian children in the Tigray region have been out of school for a year because of the ongoing conflict between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and government forces.
  
  Reports also show that since schools closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic in March, 2021, about 2500 Tigray schools- 2,221 primary schools and 271 secondary schools- have stayed closed as a result of their debilitating conditions and the presence of warring parties within them 16.
  Finally, UNICEF Ethiopia Response and Preparedness Plan for March-September 2021 inform us that the organization as well as other humanitarian organizations working to secure education in the region are underfunded and in need of $10.9 million to deliver temporary learning packages to children in their homes and equip teachers with psychosocial training.
  
  It is saddening that Tigray children are experiencing the consequences of this crisis. Armed conflicts deprive children of their moral right to education and often have long-term negative implications for them. They stand the risk of being abducted, killed, recruited for war, or sexually exploited. At times such as this, education becomes even more important because it gives children a sense of normalcy, safeguards their future, and protects them from the devastating consequences of conflict 17. 
  
  Education provides children with protection from the physical and psychological harm of war. When they are in school, the likelihood of being kidnapped, killed, recruited by parties to conflict, or exploited through gender based violence reduces exponentially. Education also brings peace because schools teach normative values such as cooperation and alternative conflict resolution methods that breed harmony among children even if they have different backgrounds. When children are educated, the country stands to gain economic benefits as well. Access to learning opportunities help children develop critical skills that increase their prospects of  employment and economic empowerment. It also increases a country’s GDP in the long run as it guarantees new entrants into the workforce every year 18. Global Campaign for Education, UK reports that every year of education contributes a 10% increment to national income 19.
  
  Policy Recommendations:
  Too many Ethiopian children are out of school because their schools are damaged or occupied by conflicting parties. The disruption of education puts the future of the national economy in peril and threatens Ethiopia’s status in the international community. The 2015 Safe Schools Declaration signed by 108 countries till date prevents the use of educational facilities for military purposes and seeks to protect every child from the consequences of war 20. It is imperative that the Ministry of Education urgently collaborate with key national stakeholders to sign this Declaration and implement a policy that explicitly prohibits the schools in Tigray from all forms of military use.
  
  The Ethiopian Ministry of Education has shown a strong commitment to sustaining the education of Tigray children in spite of the conflict. By investing over $3 million dollars in the repair of schools damaged in the conflict, it has set the pace for several local donors to invest in the education of Tigrayian children 21. We recommend that the Ministry of Education use its status as a pacesetter to urge philanthropic new donors such as Sunshine Investment Group, Dangote Group, and Ethiopian Airlines to make significant financial commitments for the provision of temporary learning materials in the Tigray region.
  
  **I was unable to upload the policy brief graphic because of the file size, so I typed out the content here.