The Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)
9
plain
2021-12-16T20:34:59-05:00
The Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) is a global network of members working to provide quality and safe education in conflict-ridden communities. As the last organization featured in this project, I would like to focus on how the INEE promotes safety in school amidst COVID. Their website has policies and recommendations are tailored to specific programs and countries, but this section will focus on the Bangladesh COVID response strategy. Linked below are response strategies from other countries.
The INEE has three objectives for education initiatives in Bangladesh, but this section will only focus on the first two because they deal specifically with school and student safety. This first objective is to ensure that youths ages 3-24 in COVID-affected areas have access to safe and protective learning spaces. This looks like adequate handwashing stations, cleaning and sanitizing learning environments, and creating clear guidelines about class operations when students and teachers become infected. To further support this standard, schools are advised to install informative messages and posters on COVID-19 awareness, lead cleaning and disinfecting activities and share messages from health centers about COVID developments.
The second objective is to ensure that girls, boys, and youth affected by COVID-19 receive mental and psychosocial support and healthy coping strategies. To make this happen, there needs to be a development and delivery of “remote guidance for teachers on lifesaving messages…[and] caregivers/community volunteers on…how to facilitate wellbeing and play, how to access specialized services and self-care in coordination with child protection actors”. NGOs are also encouraged to create recreational materials for children, adolescents, and youths at home. Activities in the classroom are centered around supporting mental health and well-being. Examples include:
- Developing audio messages for caregivers and parents about how to nurture young children
- Guiding teachers who also double as essential workers who deliver door-to-door services to parents and caregivers
- Adapting/developing public announcement messages on COVID-19
- Translating learning materials into audio and video messages to be accessed on multiple platforms, from MP3 players to Whatsapp
Links to INEE's complete Bangladesh COVID response guidelines & website