Applying minimum standards in Indonesia

For many humanitarian agencies, the tsunami in December 2004 tested their ability to assist in educating children on a massive scale. It also raised important challenges in applying the new Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction (MSEE) recently developed by the Inter-Agency Network on Education in Emergencies (see box below).

Minimum standards in education are vital. The MSEE aim to support education for everyone: yet children under 6, youth and adults are rarely prioritised during emergency situations.

Within days of the tsunami, Save the Children set up emergency education programmes in targeted areas and began applying the MSEE in Aceh, Indonesia. In the aftermath of the tsunami, Save the Children reflects on its use of the MSEE and provides some insights into how they could be used to ensure the right to education in future emergencies:

Dissemination of MSEE

Many organisations involved in the development of the MSEE such as Save the Children, UNICEF and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) tried to raise awareness of the standards through MSEE translations, presentations and discussions. However, staff did not have the time or resources to carry out the necessary training; and newer organisations did not see the benefits of the MSEE as they don't represent additional funding from donors or recognition by the government.

A key challenge for MSEE

Studying and sitting for national exams are major challenges in crisis situations. In Aceh the tsunami happened in the middle of the school year, disrupting over two months of schooling. The Indonesian government waived the national matriculation exam for primary schools but not for middle and secondary schools. Without additional support, students taking these exams will be at a significant disadvantage to those in other parts of the country. Save the Children initiated a rapid school-based tutorial system to help over 2,000 students catch up.

Involving young people

Techniques for youth involvement in emergency assessment, especially during the acute phase are developing. To try and understand their needs, Save the Children held focus groups with young people regarding their psychosocial well-being, education and protection during the acute emergency. While not ideal, these focus groups were conducted by adults and younger Save the Children staff, and illustrate the need for increased youth-led assessment tools.

Focusing on youth education

Early on in the tsunami crisis, humanitarian assistance focused on re-starting primary schools and to a lesser extent on middle and secondary schools and young people not in school. Few organisations focused on young people as a means of addressing the needs of their peers or for supporting humanitarian relief. Yet a large number of young people, especially university students, came from other parts of Indonesia to help, whose skills could have been more coordinated to support non-formal or other education activities. Even now, many organisations are not engaging with the Department of Youth under the Ministry of National Education or with local youth organisations such as the Scouting Movements, Community Learning Centres or various student associations.

Save the Children’s experience confirms that young people are mostly ignored in times of crisis. The MSEE are a possible tool to address this, requiring:

• a designated MSEE person in the UN or a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to raise awareness and facilitate the MSEE amongst government officials, NGOs and young people
• a dedicated youth position focusing on assessment, programming and protection issues throughout all phases of humanitarian response
• greater support for indigenous youth organisations and international organisations with local branches, such as the Scouting Movements, to reestablish themselves and support the reconstruction efforts.

Carl Triplehorn
Save the Children
2000 M Street, NW
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036
USA
ctriplehorn@dc.savechildren.org

See also

Tsunami relief and reconstruction: through the eyes of the children, Save the Children, June 2005
www.savethechildren.org/emergencies/images/6month_report.pdf

The role of education in protecting children in conflict, HPN Paper #42, Overseas Development Institute, by Susan Nicolai and Carl Triplehorn, 2003
www.odihpn.org/pdfbin/networkpaper042.pdf

Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies www.ineesite.org/standards

Views expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of DFID, IDS, id21 or other contributing institutions. Copyright remains with the original authors but (unless stated otherwise) any article may be copied or quoted without restriction, provided both source (id21, insights) and authors are properly acknowledged and informed. Copyright © 2004 id21. All rights reserved.