Saving education system from collapse in complex emergencies – The case of GPE support to Yemen

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Tuesday VI)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Saving education system from collapse in complex emergencies – The case of GPE support to Yemen

Proposal

Sector planning is the process through which countries develop their national education plan or transitional education plan – a multi-year sector-wide document that formulates education policies, by providing a long-term vision and objectives for its education sector, as well as outlining the strategies and activities required to reach its objectives, accompanied by an operational plan.

Improved sector planning is central to GPE’s model of engagement at the country level and forms a key input into the scaffolding of a strong education system. This relationship is virtuous: more credible, evidence-based plans are central to fostering stronger systems, while at the same time, strong systems facilitate the development of more robust education sector plans (ESPs). As such, a particular “value-add” of GPE is notes as the promotion of evidence-based, participatory and inclusive sector planning processes that address national priorities.

Yemen has been a member of the Global Partnership since 2002 and has so far received over US $ 120 million in GPE grants channeled through five grants to support the implementation of its education plans. The current ESPIG of US$72.6 million supports Yemen’s Medium-Term Result Framework (MTRF) which helps improve access, quality, and equity in education. The goal is to ensure that all Yemeni children are able to enrol and complete a high-quality education that prepares them for the labor force. The grant was approved by the GPE Board in May 2013 with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as the Grant Agent.

In view of the conflict which started in early 2015, an emergency meeting of the local education group was convened by the Ministry of Education to determine how best to use GPE funds to respond to the conflict that left 1.8 million children out of school. The GPE grant was then restructured to be more responsive to the crisis. GPE’s Operational Framework for Effective Support in Fragile and Conflict-affected States, allowed for the acceleration of funds during a time of crisis, and Yemen received an accelerated US$9.7 million (of a US$72.6 million grant), which was subsequently redirected to refurbish 150 schools and provide psycho-social support to 37,500 children and basic school supplies for nearly 91,000 children.

More recently, during the meeting of the local education group in Amman, Jordan, Yemeni partners identified a need to again restructure GPE funds to support immediate needs. As per partners’ recommendation, the second reprograming includes a 1-year extension (2018-19) and the adjustment of annual targets for new classrooms and new labs, resulting in the reallocation of US$12.2 million. Changes have also been made to the results framework and additional funding has been provided to support training and salaries of additional 699 teachers. The number of program beneficiaries has also increased to at least 427,444 children. The restructuring also included incorporation of activities supported earlier by the World Bank and was on hold due to suspension of the bank’s activities in the country.

Additionally, a new US$2.5 million component was added to support immediate needs of the education system. This funding, combined with the previous US$9.7 million emergency funding during the first restructuring, brings the total amount allocated for education in emergencies in Yemen to US$12.2 million. Finally, as per discussion by partners in the local education group and the 2016 restructuring, GPE is now supporting Yemen in the development of a transitional education sector plan to ensure continuation of education activities in the country.

The local education group played an important role in Yemen, not only in providing input on how best to restructure and utilize the GPE grant, but also in helping partners who suspended operations in the country to be involved in the sector dialogue. In this way, more partners have stayed engaged in crisis response, and are better poised for continued work. Currently, UNESCO serve as the Coordinating Agency for the Local Education Group. Other members include: JICA, UNICEF, UNESCO, KfW, USAID, World Bank, GIZ and local Yemeni CSOs.

Since the start of the conflict in March 2015, GPE Secretariat facilitated the organization of seven meetings of Yemeni Local Education Group outside of Yemen. These meetings played a critical role in supporting partners to effectively focus their support to Yemen’s education sector.

Authors

• Muhammad Tariq Khan, Global Partnership for Education

• Yayoi Segi-Vltchek, UNESCO

• Dagmar Awad-Gladewitz, GIZ/Yemen