Rapid Education Needs Assessment Report

Rapid Education Needs Assessment Report

Mingkaman of Awerial in Lakes State

Date: 15^th – 16^th January, 2014

Executive Summary

According to EMIS data 2012, Bor County of Jonglei State had 34,815 pupils in primary school alone. Following the onset of the conflict between government and opposition on 15 December 2013, approximately 41,048 children from pre-primary, primary, AES and special needs from Bor County were affected and displaced into Lakes State causing damage and occupation of a school since December 2013. This number excludes secondary students who are yet to be assessed. These IDP students spread to a number of counties in Lakes State including Awerial, Yirol East, Yirol West and Rumbek Centre, but the education authorities from Bor estimated that 80% of them are in Mingkaman payam in Awerial County. The South Sudan academic calendar begins in the first week of February up to second week of December with short breaks in between.

Emergency Context

A joint inter-agency rapid assessment team composed of 5 people from UNICEF, Save the Children, Plan South Sudan, SMoE and RRC conducted the assessment on 15^th and 16^th January 2014 in Mingkaman Awerial County in Lakes State. The assessment team was accompanied by local education authorities conducting interviews with the local education authorities, head teachers, RRC, host community and IDPs. The full list of the team members is provided in Annex 1.

The Assessment was intended to assess the impact of the conflict on the education system and infrastructure in Awerial County and ascertain the number of pupils affected from both IDP and host community school children and their needs so that humanitarian actors in the education sector could be in position to make a response plan and provide response.

Sudan Initial Education Inter cluster Rapid Assessment Tool in Annex 3. However there were interviews and observation. Local authorities from both host community and IDP population such as the Education authorities and, payam education supervisors, planning and budgeting officer were interviewed. The list of key informants with their tittles and contacts numbers is provided in Annex 2.

The team adopted various methods in conducting the assessment and they include the following:

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  Site visits
  

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  Meetings
  

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  Interview
  

According to the respondents from the education authorities amongst IDPs and education personnel within the host community there are approximately 41,048 school children whose learning has been affected by the conflict in Bor. Most of the IDPs moved from Bor to Awerial, Yirol East and Yirol West counties in Lakes State, but majority of them are in Awerial County where they concentrated in Mingkaman Boma. According to the education authorities, 80% of these school children are in Mingkaman. However, education authorities were unable to provide data for secondary school children and university students. All seven primary schools in Awerial County are not functioning because they are on long break. Five schools were visited; two are permanent, and one with temporary structure and two are under trees. School learning materials and office equipment in Mingkaman primary school were vandalized and occupied by IDPs. It is being occupied by IDPs and NGOs which are using classrooms as stores for their supplies and as a clinic.

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Teaching and Learning

Schools in Awerial County are not working simply because they are on long holidays. Teaching and learning is expected to resume in the first week of February for the whole country as per the new school calendar. The main language of instruction in the County is English. Therefore distribution of school materials can only be done when schools reopen, however there is need to pre-position them to the county level before February. As stated earlier all schools were closed down in the County not because of the emergency, but the long school holidays. Affected children and parents stated that most of their learning materials such as books, pen and pencil were destroyed during the incident in Bor. Displaced parents and children expressed their willingness despite shocks and difficulties to start schooling in February 2014 of new academic year.

Table No.2 above shows there were 536 teachers in Bor County prior to the displacement to Awerial. According to the education authorities within the IDPs, 60% of these teachers are estimated to be in Mingkaman and 40% in other camps such as Yirol. The host community in Mingkaman payam has 7 schools with 40 teachers only. These schools have PTAs but they are not trained and so they need training. The local educational authorities are functioning in Awerial County, but they are located in Bunagok payam which is 10 kilometers from Mingkaman. Given the scale of the IDP students there is need to liaise with the government so that IDP teachers can be engaged in teaching since they are in the government payroll.

During the assessment, the team found that the number of girls enrolled to school and female teachers are very low. There is a critical need for advocacy to increase girls’ enrolment and recruitment of female teachers. The official school calendar begins in the first week of February, yet head teachers were not sure of the opening day of the school. Advocacy with local authority for school enrolment and school calendar will be vital. School children are expected to be enrolled into existing schools by adding more temporary classes to prevent from overcrowding. In areas where there are no schools, an emergency learning space can be set up. Influx of IDPs into existing schooling might create tension amongst host communities and IDPs. There is need for the government to encourage both communities to accept IDP learners without discrimination. Government should ensure that all schools occupied by IDPs be vacated before 1^st February without violating the rights of IDPs by close collaboration and coordination with RRC, SMoEST, Protection Cluster, Shelter Cluster, CCCM Cluster and Education Cluster.

1. 
   Cluster level
   

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  Education Cluster to meet urgently on 23^rd January 2014 in Lakes to draw joint response plan immediately.
  
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  Advocacy with RRC, SMoEST, other Clusters (Shelter, CCCM and Protection) for evacuation of occupied school and other education issues such as examination and school calendar.
  

2. 
   Agencies
   

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  To urgently provide temporary learning spaces (TLS).
  
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  To preposition learning materials to Awerial County before 1^st. February.
  
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  Other sectors such as WASH should provide hygiene and sanitation facilities for newly set up TLS.
  
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  Child Protection and Education to work together in creating child friendly spaces and psychosocial support.
  
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  Agencies to provide training on lifeskills and psychosocial support for education personnel including PTAs.
  
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  WFP to provide school feeding programme to learners.
  

3. 
   Government level
   

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  Advocate with Ministry of Education for recruitment of IDP teachers to be deployed in Mingkaman, Awerial.
  
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  Ministry of Education to advice head teachers and county education director to enroll IDP children without discrimination.
  
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  All education stakeholders to advocate for enrolment displaced children and host communities including girls.