CRIN - Child Rights Information Network

http://www.crin.org/docs/Minimum_Standards_English_2010.pdf

The Working Group on Minimum Standards and the INEE Secretariat are pleased to launch the 2010 updated edition of the Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery.

The INEE Minimum Standards Handbook is the only global tool that articulates the minimum level of educational quality and access in emergencies through to recovery. The aim of the handbook is 1) to enhance the quality of educational preparedness, response and recovery; 2) to increase access to safe and relevant learning opportunities for all learners, regardless of their age, gender or abilities; and 3) to ensure accountability and strong coordination in the provision of education in emergencies through to recovery.

Who can use the INEE Minimum Standards?

The new edition of the Handbook, Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery, represents the consensus of many practitioners and policy makers working in the field of education in emergencies – the Handbook is the consensus on what constitutes good practice in meeting the educational rights and needs of people affected by disasters and crises in ways that assert the dignity of the affected population.

The Handbook is a tool that can be used by various stakeholders at different levels, including:

educational authorities working on, for example, education policy, sector contingency planning or direct education response to emergencies bilateral and multilateral donor agencies UN agencies, NGOs and community based organizations teachers, researchers, academics and consultants working on education in emergencies.

How are the INEE Minimum Standards organized?

The INEE Minimum Standards Handbook contains 19 standards, each with accompanying key actions and guidance notes. The 19 standards are organized in 5 domains, which are all critical for ensuring access to quality and safe education for all learners in emergencies through to recovery. The 5 domains are Foundational Standards, Access and Learning Environment, Teaching and Learning, Teachers and Other Education Personnel, and Education Policy. The Minimum Standards are founded on the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the Dakar 2000 Education for All goals, and the Sphere Project's Humanitarian Charter.

Development and Update of the INEE Minimum Standards

INEE facilitated a highly consultative process that engaged national authorities, practitioners, policy-makers, academics and other educators around the world in the development of the original Minimum Standards Handbook in 2003-2004: more than 2,250 people from over 50 countries participated in a series of regional workshops to develop, debate and agree on the standards. Building upon this collaborative experience, INEE conducted a similarly consultative update process in 2009-2010: more than 1,000 representatives of national authorities, international, national and local NGOs, UN agencies, academic and research institutions from 52 countries participated in the update process.

The decision to update the Minimum Standards was made at the INEE Global Consultation in Istanbul, Turkey, in March 2009 and was based on feedback that INEE has received since 2004 from users of the Handbook. The INEE Working Group on Minimum Standards decided that the Minimum Standards Handbook should be updated to:

reflect recent developments in the field of Education in Emergencies such as, for example, the establishment of the Education Cluster approach incorporate the experience and good practices of the users of the Handbook make the Handbook more user-friendly than the 2004 edition of the Handbook.

What's new in the 2010 edition of the INEE Minimum Standards Handbook?

Those familiar with the 2004 edition of the Handbook will recognise much of the content of the present edition. Improvements include:

strengthening of context analysis and key issues: protection, psychosocial support, conflict mitigation, disaster risk reduction, early childhood development, gender, HIV and AIDS, human rights, inclusive education, inter-sectoral linkages (health; water, sanitation and hygiene promotion; shelter; food and nutrition) and youth. For tools to help with the implementation of these key issues, go to the INEE Toolkit: www.ineesite.org/toolkit. the inclusion of key actions, rather than key indicators, that need to be taken in order to meet the standards a change in the name of the first domain from 'Standards Common to all Categories' to 'Foundational Standards', to reflect the need to use these standards as the basis of all education work. In addition, given the need for coordination in all education work, the standard on Coordination has been moved to this domain from the Education Policy domain.

The Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery is founded on INEE's strong commitment to education as a fundamental human right for all people. Education is especially critical for the tens of millions of children and youth affected by conflict and disasters, and yet it is often significantly disrupted in emergency situations, denying learners the transformative effects of quality education. Education in emergencies comprises learning opportunities for all ages. It ensures dignity and sustains life by offering safe spaces for learning, where children and youth who need other assistance can be identified and supported. Education opportunities also mitigate the psychosocial impact of conflict and disasters by providing a sense of routine, stability, structure and hope for the future. Quality education contributes directly to the social, economic and political stability of societies. Education is an integral part of the planning and provision of humanitarian response, which goes beyond providing immediate relief. Coordination and collaboration between education and other emergency sectors are essential for an effective response that addresses the rights and needs of all learners.

Previous Training Materials items

Organisation Contact Details:

Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)
Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)
Tzvetomira Laub
INEE Coordinator for Minimum Standards
c/o UNICEF - Education Section
3 UN Plaza
New York, NY 10017, USA
Email: tzvetomira@ineesite.org
Tel: +1 212 326 7581

Last updated 26/10/2010 09:42:28

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.

EMERGENCIES: Minimum Standards for Education - Preparedness, Response, Recovery (Handbook, 2010)

Previous Training Materials items

Have your say!