Delivering instruction in Crisis and Conflict settings

• In Event: Evidence-based decision making in education
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Learning, education, and schooling in conflict settings

Proposal

Launched in October 2014, the Instant Network Schools (INS) programme is a collaboration between UNHCR and Vodafone Foundation (VF). The programme is targeted at bridging the gap of the over 6.4 million refugee children between 5 and 17 years under UNHCR care with limited access to education and unable to attend school. With these staggering numbers, an entire generation of displaced children and youth could potentially be left behind as the world zooms by unless the barriers to refugee education are reduced. The ‘INS holistic approach’ provides one solution to bridging the divide and includes the following nine (9) elements i.e. capacity building, programme ownership, local initiatives, teacher training, educational content, hardware, power, connectivity, content & tablet management and Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E). These elements can be further grouped into 4 pillars i.e. Infrastructure, Capacity building, Accessibility and Measure impact. From the research and data collected during the proof of concept phase, the INS has established that these elements are mandatory for any technology led education program and are incorporated in the implementation of the INS in the following four countries - Kenya, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. While the INS holistic approach provides a useful design and operational framework, managing the program has revealed that it is not a one-size-fits-all solution and the model must be adapted to the specific country context for program success.

Although the program is still in its infancy stage, research findings confirm that it continues to have a significant impact on the lives of students, teachers and the wider community. In 2017, the INS programme contributed to the delivery of quality education to 44,500+ students and it is estimated that, since its inception, the programme has reached approximately 62,500 students and 850 teachers. There are 31 INS centres across 4 countries and this number is projected to grow to 36 INS centres by the end of 2018. The programme has increased access to ICTs for girls through the ICT Girls Bootcamp in Kenya and is also contributing to bridging the gender divide with an 86% increase recorded in secondary school girls using the INS. ICT literacy scores for INS teachers also doubled with female teachers showing the greatest improvement.


The INS programme provides a positive example of how technology can be introduced into a refugee education context in a holistic manner, providing training and resources, increasing appetite for learning, and promoting innovative pedagogical approaches while remaining embedded within the established curriculum. It has the potential to equip children and youth with the knowledge and skillsets for their economic development in their home and host countries and successfully achieve their dreams. From the monitoring, evaluation and data collection the teachers can continually improve the classroom experience for students and UNHCR and VF provide data on scaling the program to other regions.

Author

• Sandra Atieno Aluoch, UNHCR