Governments in Africa and other parts of the world have been urged to adopt Accelerated Education Programmes (AEPs) that will enable millions of refugee and other vulnerable children to return to school.
Speaking during a Roundtable Dialogue ahead of the second inter-governmental Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, from 13-15 December, education leaders of different countries acknowledged that Accelerated Education Programmes (AEPs) are urgently needed for 15.5 million refugee children in addition to more than 80 million out-of-school children and youth around the world.
However, persistent challenges raised included the current aid architecture, which can unintentionally work against national education systems, teacher shortages, adolescent girls remaining in secondary schools, and significant cultural and language barriers to enrolment and retention.
To inform government policies addressing this huge, and growing problem, Education.org, an independent non-profit initiative, published the second edition of its High-Level Policy Guidance on Accelerated Education Programmes for vulnerable groups ‘Steering Through Storms: Five Recommendations for Education Leaders to Close the Learning Gap in Times of Crisis.
They said governments can meaningfully support features known to be critical for AEP effectiveness.
“Policymakers are encouraged to review the key AEP features to inform their national policy and guidelines improvements,” Education.org said.
This is by ensuring access to programmes for the children and young people who need them, improving the quality of the teaching and services the AEPs provide; and providing for the sustainability of AEPs in the long term.
Governments are also advised to conduct an assessment before strengthening AEP alignment with their national education system. “Policymakers can avoid a ‘one-size-fits all’ approach, which may inadvertently exclude some children and youth,” the non-profit initiative said.
Ministries of Education are encouraged to plan a phased approach for strengthening AEP alignment with their national education system.
A phased approach, based on specific needs and different readiness levels, emerges from the experience of various countries as more effective, the report adds.
Governments are urged to design and roll out evidence-informed policy initiatives to strengthen AEP alignment in phases driven by national priorities. First focus on essential goals (like equity and inclusion, curriculum, assessment and certification), followed later by alignment of the other key features of successful AEPs.
Governments can involve a broad range of actors to accelerate national education goals throughout the process. Collaboration with AEP providers, community supporters and both national and international organisations is vital for success.
The Roundtable featured Awut Deng Acuil (Minister of General Education & Instruction for South Sudan), Dr Joyce Moriku Kaducu (Minister of State for Primary Education, in the Ministry of Education & Sports, the Republic of Uganda); Alan Hama Saeed Salih (Kurdistan Regional Government Minister of Education), and Ms. Jennifer Roberts, Senior Education Officer at UNHCR.
They shared and discussed with other country education leaders the successful strategies developed in Uganda, South Sudan, and Iraq to address these challenges, highlighting progress in school enrolment and integration of refugee children within national education systems, along with improvements in coordination among implementing partners as main advances.
Dr Randa Grob-Zakhary, Education.org’s Founder and CEO said: “There could be no more appropriate event to unveil ‘Steering Through Storms’ than here, as some of the world’s education and development leaders meet to discuss the many challenges created by the displacement of populations, and to find the most effective ways of supporting, educating and assimilating refugee children within their formal and non-formal education systems.”
