Standard 8: Equal and Equitable Access

SDG 4 aims to ensure access to inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all, including free primary and secondary education. ESPs and government policies should guarantee equitable quality education for all. Countries that host refugees are encouraged to promote the inclusion of refugees into all levels of their national education system, in line with the vision of the Global Compact on Refugees. This will require that the additional costs per learner are supported through the national budget or donor financing. ESPs should be gender-responsive, disability-inclusive, and ensure equitable access. Inter-sectoral approaches, such as social protection schemes, may be necessary, especially to reach individuals or groups who are excluded from education. Education authorities and humanitarian partners should work closely to coordinate and align humanitarian response plans and refugee response plans with national ESPs. This will help to ensure the continuity of quality education across the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus. It is essential that all objectives are planned and budgeted for. Civil society can play an important role in advocating to include marginalized children and young people in national and humanitarian planning.

During acute onset emergencies and displacement, learners may be provided with temporary options to engage in center-based programming, including child-friendly spaces. It is imperative that education actors collaborate with other sectors and providers, specifically child protection, to ensure that there are clear pathways for learners to participate in appropriate non-formal and formal education as soon as possible. Stakeholders should take every opportunity to promote structured learning activities, including play-based, arts-based, sports-related, and learner-centered approaches in the temporary programming (for more guidance, see Minimum Standards for Child Protection).

No individual or social group should be denied access to education or have limited ability to participate and succeed in educational opportunities. Discrimination may be intentional, such as policies and practices that ban pregnant learners from attending school. They also may be unintentional, such as when the design of a learning environment fails to include access for learners with disabilities. Barriers to education often increase during a crisis, and children and young people also may experience new vulnerabilities and protection risks.

Some children and young people may experience discrimination and exclusion more often than others because of their individual or collective identities, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Persons with disabilities
• People with severe mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities
• Refugees, IDPs, and stateless and migrant communities
• Girls and women
• People who are LGBTQIA+
• Children and young people who are entering education as older learners or who have aged out of existing formal education opportunities
• Children associated with armed forces and armed groups
• Pregnant girls, teenage parents, or child and adolescent heads of household
• Children from families experiencing income poverty or those involved in child labor
• People with long-term health issues that prevent their regular and full participation, or who are perceived as a threat to others’ health, including those who have HIV/AIDS
• People with particular social identities, including race, ethnicity, caste, language, tribal affiliation, religious affiliation, political affiliation, and indigenous heritage

Children and young people who are experiencing intersecting inequalities may be at even greater risk of discrimination and exclusion. For example, a teenage parent engaged in child labor or an indigenous young person with a disability may face different challenges. The immediate and long-term impact of discrimination and exclusion can be significant. Children and young people who experience discrimination may be at greater risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence. If a particular gender, ethnic, linguistic, geographic, or age group has no access to learning, it can create or continue tensions that may worsen a conflict. It also can negatively impact longer-term economic and social development at both the individual and national levels.

On the other hand, a crisis can create opportunities for positive change. Stakeholders must carefully plan and implement their activities to ensure that they do no harm and are conflict sensitive. Opportunities to mitigate and prevent discrimination and exclusion can include the following:

• Understand patterns of exclusion and discrimination: Education stakeholders should identify the children and young people who are not accessing education, work to understand the barriers they face, and learn what their education aspirations are. An education assessment will provide information on the vulnerability, protection concerns, needs, and priorities of the people affected, which will allow education actors to work towards removing the barriers and providing equal and relevant education opportunities for all.
• Identify and correct discriminatory policies and practices: National authorities are responsible for having and implementing inclusive policies across all aspects of the education system. Orientation and training to counter implicit bias and explicit discrimination should be included in the policies and referral mechanisms at all levels of policy-making and service provision. Communities, including community education committees, can help identify exclusionary and discriminatory practices, including structural discrimination, racism, and sexism. External stakeholders should consult people who are affected by such policies or who experience discrimination. Communities and civil society can advocate for explicit policies to prevent discrimination, give voice to people who face discrimination, and promote EiE activities that are designed and delivered with all individuals in mind.
• Provide holistic programming: National authorities and humanitarian actors should take a holistic approach to education and healthy development. Learners’ needs will vary according to their age and stage of development. Holistic programming looks at the whole child or young person and creates joint or collaborative connections with other service providers and sectors to support the multiple aspects of healthy development and wellbeing. Education intersects closely with child protection, livelihoods, health and nutrition, and other sectors. Holistic programming can significantly improve the ability of marginalized children and young people to participate and engage in learning. This can include providing CVA or take-home food rations in the school.s
• Inclusive curriculum: Education authorities are responsible for ensuring that the curriculum, including teaching and learning materials, promotes respect for diversity, is non-discriminatory, and does not promote stereotypes linked to gender, race, or abilities. Choosing the language of instruction is critical, as it can exclude some individuals and group.s
• Train teachers and other education personnel: Teachers and other education personnel should receive training on creating safe, inclusive learning spaces and addressing discrimination and exclusion in and around the learning environment. All teacher training should include orientation in protective reporting policies and practices.
• Address social norms: Communities, community education committees, religious leaders, women’s rights organizations, and other actors can help identify and challenge the social norms, attitudes, and power dynamics that drive exclusion and discrimination. The education system can, in turn, have a positive effect on social norms by establishing more inclusive practices and education content. Social norms related to gender, such as prioritizing education for boys over girls or acceptance of forced marriage, should be addressed.

(For more guidance, see Supporting Integrated Child Protection and Education Programming in Humanitarian Action.)

Policies and regulations regarding who can register for education and what resources and documentation are needed to enroll might need to be removed to protect some people’s right to education. Waiving enrollment criteria is often a policy decision. Thus, it requires negotiation and advocacy at the policy level, and putting in place administrative processes that support this. Waiving enrollment criteria can be especially important for refugees, migrants, IDPs, those who have experienced gaps in their education, those who were unable to start their education at the right age, and those who do not have access to the required documentation. It is important that any actions taken are designed and implemented in ways that do not harm the community, and that they mitigate or address how the crisis has affected education access. Removing enrollment barriers might include:

• Removal of financial requirements: Ensure that the principles of free and compulsory primary education, available and accessible secondary education (made progressively free), and equal access to higher education on the basis of capacity (made progressively free) are upheld. This can be done by eliminating additional costs such as uniforms, exam fees, books, and supplies, and providing these items for free when possible. An analysis of education costs will help education actors understand and address the financial burdens families may be facing. Policy and program approaches may vary and require collaboration with other sectors. A CVA feasibility assessment should be conducted to determine whether CVA is relevant in a context, as it can be an important support for children experiencing poverty or vulnerability. In alignment with the IASC cash coordination model, education stakeholders should collaborate with the cash working group or other sectors and organizations with strong CVA expertise, such as child protection, food security, and livelihoods, to determine the relevance of CVA.
• Flexible entrance age: It may be necessary to temporarily or permanently change restrictive age-specific enrollment policies. It is important to support the development and implementation of policies and practices that ensure appropriate safeguarding and protection, consider cultural norms, and accommodate the specific developmental and learning needs of children and young people in multi-age settings. Alternative education pathways, such as accelerated education or catch-up programs, may be an alternative for over-age learners.
• Flexibility around what documentation is required: There should be flexibility around what documents children and young people need to enroll in an education program. During emergencies, people may not have their citizenship or birth certificates, other identity papers, or school records. Education actors and school officials should work together to make sure that documentation requirements are not an unnecessary barrier to education access. In some contexts, UN agencies or other specialized organizations may be able to help displaced populations access or replace their documents, in collaboration with relevant national authorities. When handling sensitive and confidential information, stakeholders must follow safeguarding policies to protect children, young people, and their families and communities.
• Allowing gaps: Learners should be given academic support to help them return to an age-appropriate level in formal education. For a short gap in education, support can include remedial or catch-up classes. Children and young people with longer gaps in their learning should be given alternatives that allow them to return to formal education or enroll in non-formal education opportunities, such as accelerated education.
• Advocacy: Communities, civil society, an education cluster, or refugee education working group can advocate for lifting enrollment barriers in education programs and policies. This includes advocating for policy changes to ensure the sustainability and acceptance of flexible education models.

A range of relevant formal and non-formal quality education opportunities are needed for crisis-affected children, young people, and adults. The aim is to meet the education needs of all learners at all education levels, and to leave no one behind. These opportunities should be relevant to the learners and to the context, and may include access to:

• Child-friendly or other safe learning spaces during an acute crisis
• ECD
• Primary education
• Secondary education
• Tertiary education which includes TVET, higher education, and adult education
• Literacy and numeracy classes
• Skills building
• Accredited alternative education, including accelerated education

Creating child-friendly spaces or other safe learning spaces is often the first response during an acute crisis when it is not yet possible to return to formal schooling. Child-friendly spaces protect and promote the wellbeing (including SEL) of children and young people and prepare them for structured learning in formal or non-formal settings. Education stakeholders should plan child-friendly spaces in collaboration with child protection actors (for more guidance, see Minimum Standards for Child Protection, Standard 15).

Education authorities are responsible for ensuring that education policies address the needs of excluded populations. This includes providing relevant programs for children and young people who have had long gaps in their education or who did not enroll at the right age. Catch-up or bridging programs may be an option for learners who have experienced gaps in their education but may be able to re-enter and continue in formal education at the appropriate grade and age level. Remedial classes can be provided to learners who are already enrolled but need additional support in specific subjects. Civil society and communities can advocate for the provision of such programs and support their implementation.

Formal education may not be a realistic or relevant option for all learners, especially those who are over age and have missed out on significant periods of education. Non-formal education is often a relevant alternative, such as accelerated education, or literacy, numeracy, and SEL programs. When possible and appropriate, non-formal education should be recognized and certified by education authorities. It is the responsibility of education actors to coordinate with education authorities throughout the design and implementation of their non-formal programs to work towards certification and recognition.  Non-formal education should offer a pathway to formal education, livelihood, or employment opportunities (for more guidance, see Supporting Integrated Child Protection and Education Programming in Humanitarian Action).

Education stakeholders should make learning opportunities flexible and adapt them to the situation so they meet all learners’ needs and aspirations. The goal is for all learners to be able to fully access and complete their education. Adaptations may mitigate disruptions to learning and enable learners to attend school regularly. Examples of adaptations include:

• Flexible class schedules, hours, shifts, and annual timetables to suit groups of learners who have other responsibilities
• Alternative modes of delivery, such as self-study, distance or blended learning, accelerated education, or catch-up learning programs
• Learner-centered pedagogy that accommodates differentiated learning
• Child-care services for learners who are parents or caregivers for younger siblings
• CVA to reduce negative coping mechanisms that may affect learners’ chances of accessing and completing their education, such as child labor or forced marriage

Education actors and community members, including learners, parents, and caregivers, should discuss and agree on what adaptations are needed and appropriate when learning is disrupted. It is important to involve people at risk of being excluded from education, such as children and young persons with disabilities, refugees, and IDPs. Education authorities must be actively involved so that the suggested adaptations will be accepted and recognized.

Targeted adaptations for those who are challenged by contextual circumstances or discriminatory policies should include policies and programs that are responsive to learners’ and teachers’ rapidly changing needs. Contingency plans should include strategies for dealing with a large-scale disruption of learning, which may create a need for adjustments across the education system, such as distance education and bridging programs. If an emergency prevents learners from going to school, having plans in place to adjust the mode of delivery will ensure that learning can continue. Examples include a change from in-person learning to blended or distance learning.

To provide distance education that enables all learners to have access to learning, it is important to consider multiple modalities and choose carefully how to deliver them, including high-tech, low-tech, and no-tech approaches. Education stakeholders must also protect learners’ digital safety and protect them from harmful content. Learners who are living in poverty or facing social exclusion often do not have electricity, access to technology, or the skills to use digital devices. They also may lack other resources, such as books. Education stakeholders should provide these resources to ensure that they can continue learning, including additional support to women and girls, as they often have less access to technology, devices, and internet connectivity than their male peers. Encouraging parents and caregivers to get involved in their children’s education is key to ensuring that learners’ engaging in distance education are well supported. Where learners are not able engage in-person with their peers or teachers, it is important to give extra attention to supporting their mental health and wellbeing.

Governments, education stakeholders, and communities should take all possible actions to continue learning during a crisis. Where learning is interrupted, it should be brought back as quickly as possible, whether through blended learning approaches or creating new safe spaces. If needed during an emergency, child-friendly spaces and non-formal education programs can prepare learners to later join or rejoin the formal education system as soon as possible (see guidance note 9). When possible, non-formal education programs should be certified and accredited. For refugees who are returning to their country of origin or re-settling in a new country, governments, UN agencies, and other relevant actors may advocate for the recognition of refugees’ education across countries, including recognition and equivalency of education documents and credentials from prior learning.

Education authorities and humanitarian and development partners should work together to strengthen national education systems at all levels—community, sub-national, national—to offer education to children and young people in crisis-affected communities, including host communities. Crisis-affected learners must be included in national education plans and budgets. Education preparedness and response plans should reflect the aspirations, relevant policies, and protocols of the national system. They also must be designed and implemented in ways that do not harm the community or providers, and do not worsen the impact of the emergency. All authorities from the relevant sectors, including those with financial decision-making and oversight, should work together to ensure that responses are holistic and address the diverse and multi-sectoral needs of crisis-affected learners. Additional services may be needed to expand equitable access rapidly. These can be delivered by humanitarian actors and may include the following:

• Facilities and services: Additional education infrastructure may be needed, such as temporary structures that can be set up rapidly. Ideally, they can later be used as semi-permanent and permanent learning structures, community centers, or buildings used for other purposes. When the number of learners increases, it is important to provide additional WASH facilities in order to meet national or international standards. Stakeholders should carefully consider the context, relevance, and best use of any learning environment. All structures should accommodate the age and ability of all learners. When needed, a double shift system can be put in place to make the best use of a learning environment. This can include morning and afternoon classes or other shifts in the schedule, as needed. It is also important to consider the principle of do no harm, as a shift in schedule may lead to reduced classroom learning time and a higher workload for teachers and other education personnel. It also may mean that children and young people must walk to and from school outside daylight hours, which will require considering and addressing additional protection concerns, in collaboration with the protection sector.
• Teaching and learning: Relevant education options and integration policies should aim to mitigate exclusion and discrimination. They may include providing language support or remedial education.
• Teachers and other education personnel: Stakeholders may need to recruit additional teachers and teaching assistants to maintain a reasonable teacher-student ratio. Training for teachers and teaching assistants should include pedagogy, child protection, MHPSS, subject content, human rights, and other relevant topics. In a situation of rapid influx, teachers should be prepared for teaching multiple grades or managing large classes.
• School improvement plans: Education stakeholders should empower communities and schools to increase their enrollment capacity by providing school grants or other types of financial support linked to school improvement plans.
• Conflict sensitivity: It is important for education stakeholders to actively address potential tensions between host communities and displaced or migrant populations. This includes addressing the potential negative consequences of integrating additional learners into host education programs, which may result in overcrowded classrooms, shorter instruction time, longer teaching hours, additional learning needs, and a strain on infrastructure. Teachers should be given training on how to promote social cohesion and a sense of belonging for their learners. Partners should monitor and share information about how providing access to additional learners interacts with conflict dynamics (for more guidance, see INEE Guidance Note on Conflict Sensitive Education).

Education for refugees and displaced populations should be part of national policy frameworks and plans and be included in budgets. Civil society, communities, and coordination mechanisms, such as education clusters and refugee education working groups, can advocate for the inclusion of these populations into national education systems and hold governments accountable.

Governments, education stakeholders, and communities should work together to include displaced populations equitably and sustainably in the national education system. These populations include migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, returnees, stateless persons, and IDPs. UN agencies and humanitarian organizations can work with the authorities to ensure that education access is provided through a recognized system that provides certification and opportunities to transition to the next education level. Humanitarian actors, civil society, and communities can advocate for the provision of multiple education pathways where this does not already exist. When possible, displaced populations should be reflected in an EMIS and be included in national learning assessment surveys.

National legal systems should reflect the rights and accommodations made for internally displaced and migrant learners and teachers and other education personnel. While IDPs have the right to access national schools by virtue of their citizenship, the host country may not have policies in place to support the inclusion of refugees in the national system. In keeping with the protections and rights of refugees, as articulated in global treaties and agreements, efforts should be made to ensure that refugees can be integrated into national education systems in the host country as much as possible. This requires removing policy barriers to accessing education, supporting the use of the host country curriculum, providing opportunities for the official certification of learning, and having refugee learners attend schools alongside those in the host community. Humanitarian and development actors, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders can advocate for the inclusion of refugees in national plans, systems, and budgets. Education stakeholders should make sure that schools and teachers have the support they need to integrate refugee learners and create a supportive learning environment, such as classes to learn the language of instruction. Over-age and out-of-school refugees should have the opportunity to participate in recognized, flexible, non-formal education programs that will enable them to integrate into formal education.

Communities should be involved in designing and leading initiatives that ensure that everyone can access quality education in a way that respects their social and cultural norms and deals with injustice. When designing and implementing education policies and programs, policy-makers and education actors should consult with communities. Communities can help ensure equal access to education for all by:

• Identifying individuals and groups made vulnerable by exclusion
• Promoting the participation of all relevant groups, especially those facing social exclusion
• Identifying where alternative learning opportunities may be needed
• Mobilizing extra resources
• Dealing with security, protection, and psychosocial concerns
• Dealing with communication gaps

Community leaders can be powerful advocates for education. This can involve challenging social norms that may lead to exclusion, such as those that devalue education for girls and children and young persons with disabilities. To collect a wide range of perspectives, community members with different backgrounds and vulnerabilities should be engaged in this advocacy. Networks led by children and young people can provide important information about their realities and aspirations. Communities and external stakeholders can work together to support local goals and strategies for advancing access to education and promoting children’s and young people’s development and wellbeing. When relevant, communities and external stakeholders can organize training on relevant international legal frameworks and standards.

Schools and education facilities should not be used as shelters or evacuation centers. Using schools as temporary shelters denies displaced learners and learners from the host community access to safe learning environments and their right to education.

National authorities should only allow the use of education spaces as shelters or evacuation centers for displaced people if there are no other options. They should seek out alternative locations during preparedness planning. Civil society and communities can advocate for emergency preparedness plans that minimize the use of learning environments as shelters and call for the following:

• Using schools as shelters only as a last resort
• Using education facilities for the shortest time possible and agreeing on a date for returning the facility to its original function
• Planning and budgeting to ensure that education facilities are returned in a usable or improved state, such as renovated sanitation facilities
• Having continuity plans for learners even when learning facilities are occupied, such as by providing temporary learning spaces where teachers can continue to reach learners

When education facilities must be used to provide temporary shelter, education actors should work with the shelter and protection sectors to minimize negative effects and potential protection risks. When a school is being used for shelter, education or school officials should inform the inter-agency coordination mechanism. While the learning space is being used as a shelter, humanitarian actors can work with the community to plan and provide alternative learning locations or distance education. When an education facility is used as a temporary shelter, it is important to protect school property, including textbooks, libraries, furniture, school records, technological infrastructure, and recreational equipment (for more guidance, see Supporting Integrated Child Protection and Education Programming in Humanitarian Action).

National authorities are responsible for providing education during emergencies. This involves coordinating and providing sufficient financial, material, and human resources. If there is a funding gap, humanitarian and development assistance can complement national and local resources. Other funding sources include global mechanisms such as ECW, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, UN Country-Based Pooled Funds, donors, international and local NGOs, communities, faith-based organizations, civil society groups, and other development partners.

EiE has long been under-funded. The lack of funding means that, while stakeholders work to address urgent needs and fulfill the right to education for all crisis-affected learners, they should have clear priorities that reflect the reality of the funding situation. Plans to mobilize and allocate funds strategically to meet critical needs may include the following:

• Contingency and emergency preparedness plans: Education authorities and partners, including authorities from other sectors that support infrastructure and services linked to education, should include preparedness and contingency plans in the national ESP. This should include funding for EiE within government frameworks and civil society networks. Education authorities and humanitarian and development partners should also identify opportunities to work across the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus to prepare for future crises.
• Early assessments: Initial rapid assessments should include education to ensure that education needs are identified, planned, and budgeted for at the onset of an emergency. Education needs and funding should be included in any refugee response plan or humanitarian response plas.
• Advocate for education in national budgets: When relevant, communities, civil society, and other stakeholders can advocate for education to be a high priority in the national budget. This is in keeping with international benchmarks, as outlined in the Incheon Declaration, and it may include dedicated funding for EiE responses.
• Advocate with donors: Education stakeholders should advocate for flexible, predictable, and sustained funding to support education interventions and systems throughout a response. They may call for collaboration between development and humanitarian donors, with the aim of reducing gaps, ensuring the continuity of systems and interventions, and strengthening the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus.
• Prioritize funds for identified needs: Allocation of resources should be informed by a needs assessment. This will ensure that resources are allocated where there is the greatest need, in keeping with humanitarian principles. International actors and donors should prioritize local partners’ access to resources and facilitate this as directly as possible to improve outcomes for the people affected and reduce transaction costs.
• Cross-sectoral collaboration: Humanitarian actors across sectors and systems should collaborate on efforts to obtain adequate funding to address the holistic needs of all learners and teachers and other education personnel.