Strengthening Ministry of Education engagement and leadership in rapid education in emergency response
This policy brief draws on country consultations, focus group discussions with education stakeholders, and key documents integrated into the GEC’s Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) toolkit to provide a set of practical recommendations to enhance education authorities’ engagement and leadership in RRM and rapid EiE response at national, subnational, and local levels. More specifically, the recommendations outline how to
- enhance joint coordinated preparedness efforts between the MoE and humanitarian partners as a precondition for effective rapid EiE responses;
- strengthen the role of MoEs during EiE responses; and
- foster an enabling environment for effective MoE engagement and leadership in preventing or mitigating, preparing for, and responding to sudden-onset emergencies.
The targeted audience are MoEs at national and subnational levels, humanitarian partners, and coordination entities in which MoEs may play a leading or co-leading coordination role, depending on context. The recommendations are applicable to MoEs when they are not party to conflict, and in situations where education authorities are looking for opportunities to enhance capacities to engage in rapid EiE responses. Key recommendations for humanitarian actors put forward ways in which they can more effectively engage the MoE in preparedness planning and throughout the duration of a rapid response to an emergency.
The key actions proposed throughout the phases and areas discussed below draw on the findings of two country case studies in Madagascar and South Sudan on MoE engagement in emergency situations, and provide evidenceand experience-based considerations rather than prescriptions for action or normative propositions. Given the importance of local dynamics and considerations in humanitarian responses, these recommendations should be contextualized at national, subnational, and