Coming Soon! The INEE Minimum Standards for Education, 2024 Edition

Since 2004, the INEE Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery (INEE MS) have provided a framework for quality education in emergencies (EiE). At the same time, the field of EiE has changed significantly since the INEE MS were last updated in 2010, including notable developments such as:

• The Sustainable Development Goals
• The Global Compact on Refugees
• Education Cannot Wait, the global fund for EiE
• Escalating impacts of climate change
• The COVID-19 pandemic 
• An increase in the number, complexity, and length of humanitarian crises
• Strengthened connections between education, protection, and other sectors
• An emphasis on locally led humanitarian action, decolonization, and working across the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus

The 2024 update aims to ensure that the INEE MS remain relevant, accessible, and adaptable to support education stakeholders across the globe. Watch the video below to learn more about the 2024 update process! 

KEY UPDATES TO THE INEE MS, 2024 EDITION 

Format and Structure

If you are familiar with the 2010 edition of the INEE MS, you will note that the structure of the domains and standards in this updated edition is mostly the same. Changes to the structure include:

• Numbering the Standards 1–19 instead of within each of the five domains;
• Aligning key actions and guidance notes so that they are one-to-one; 
• Aligning the color scheme of the domains and standards with the INEE MS Indicator Framework;
• A “References and Further Reading” list at the end of each Standard with links to additional guidance 
• Incorporating icons for ‘key actions’, ‘guidance notes’, and ‘see also’s throughout the handbook.

Introduction to the INEE MS 

• A new section on “Cross-Cutting Issues That Should be Considered When Using the INEE MS” with sub-sections on protection, gender, disability, mental health and psychosocial support, disaster risk reduction and resilience, conflict sensitive education,  climate crisis, and centering equity in EiE. Guidance related to each of these cross-cutting issues has been integrated and strengthened throughout the handbook.
• An updated definition for quality education that more strongly reflects the characteristics of quality education in crisis contexts: (1) Rights-based; (2) Contextualized and relevant; (3)Holistic development of learners; (4) Teaching and learning; (5) Enabling resources; (6) Learning outcomes; (7) Learning continuity
• Expanded discussions on the INEE MS as they relate to contextualization, the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus, and EiE sector coordination 
• A note on the concept of capacity sharing
• A critical reflection on the update process

Domains 

Each domain includes an updated introduction, which provides a more comprehensive framing of the key issues related to that domain.

Domain 1: Foundational Standards for a Quality Response (Standards 1–7)

Domain 1 has been renamed “Foundational Standards for a Quality Response” to highlight that these are process standards that cover key elements that should be present in all levels and types of education programming.

Domain 1 includes increased emphasis or new guidance on: 

• Engaging indigenous communities and respecting local and indigenous knowledge systems 
• Meaningful participation of national and local actors in coordination mechanisms
• Collaboration between EiE coordination mechanisms (refugee education working groups and clusters) and humanitarian and development coordination mechanisms (humanitarian-development coherence)
• Private sector engagement in EiE 
• Cash and voucher assistance
• Data responsibility, including data privacy and protection 
• Rapid response planning
• Capacity sharing between local, national, and international actors 
• Building education system resilience
• Crisis-sensitive education management information systems (EMIS)

Domain 2: Access and Learning Environment (Standards 8–10)

Standard 8: Equal Access has been renamed “Equal and Equitable Access” to illustrate the importance of not only ensuring that all learners have access to education during a crisis, but striving for equity by identifying disparities in opportunities, outcomes, and representation for different groups and addressing those disparities through targeted actions. 

Domain 2 includes increased emphasis or new guidance on: 

• Child Protection-EiE collaboration and linkages to the Minimum Standards for Child Protection
• Distance education
• The specific needs and challenges of learners at different levels of education (e.g. early childhood development, primary, secondary, and tertiary)
• Flexible education and multiple education pathways, including formal and non-formal education opportunities. This includes child-friendly spaces, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), and accelerated education
• Recognized and certified non-formal education that provides a pathway to continued learning
• Mitigating the effects of the climate crisis and disaster risks on education infrastructure
• School safety and the Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction & Resilience in the Education Sector (GADRRRES) Comprehensive School Safety Framework
• Respecting and drawing from local and indigenous knowledge systems for disaster risk reduction and resilience

Domain 3: Teaching and Learning (Standards 11–14)

The standards in Domain 3 have been reordered: Standard 11: Curricula → Standard 12: Teaching and Learning Processes → Standard 13: Assessment of Holistic Learning Outcomes → Standard 14: Training, Professional Development, and Support.

Standard 13 has been renamed “Assessment of Holistic Learning Outcomes” to emphasize the importance of assessments that encompass academic learning, mental health and psychosocial support, and social and emotional learning.

Domain 3 includes increased emphasis or new guidance on:

• Digitalization and distance education and its implications for teaching and learning 
• Inclusion of refugees in national education systems
• Language of instruction and mother tongue 
• Respecting and drawing from local and indigenous knowledge systems when developing curricula and teaching and learning materials and approaches 

Domain 4: Teachers and Other Education Personnel (Standards 15–17)

Domain 4 includes increased emphasis or new guidance on:

• Teacher qualifications and aptitudes in crisis contexts
• ILO/UNESCO global recommendations on the status of the teaching profession
• Teacher management issues including employment contracts, compensation, and professional support mechanisms 
• Teachers’ and other education personnels’ wellbeing and access to mental health and psychosocial support 

Domain 5: Education Policy (Standards 18–19)

Education policy provides a foundation for education planning, including in emergencies, and expresses the goals of an education system which are set out in laws, regulations, budgets, and programs. There is a greater focus on reinforcing Domain 5 as the underpinning of the other four domains. Education policy should establish and reflect the principles, practices, and services that will most effectively support the provision of inclusive and equitable quality education for all learners, even during crises. 

Domain 5 includes increased emphasis or new guidance on:

• National education sector plans and emergency plans, including contingency and preparedness plans 
• Reflecting the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus in policy-making
• The role of EiE advocacy 
• Aligning policy with international tools, conventions, frameworks and policies, including the Global Compact for Refugees and the Safe Schools Declaration
• Regulating private sector engagement in EiE 

Look out for the updated INEE Minimum Standards handbook coming soon!