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Session Submission Summary

Distance Interactive Audio Learning: Defying obscurantism by accessing education where schools and education are attacked

Thu, March 14, 1:30 to 3:00pm, Hyatt Regency Miami, Floor: Third Level, Miami Lecture hall

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Basic literacy, numeracy and life skills empower individuals to access markets, health information, political and social networks, to live healthier and more productive lives and prepare future generations to be able to mitigate and respond to future risks including climate change, disasters and conflict. A holistic education will support the development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and communication skills, so that the child has opportunities to participate fully in society, achieving both personal success and contributing to the growth and development of their family and community.
Education can be informative and transformative – providing access to information and facilitating the development of skills to challenge, analyse and communicate that information for informed decision-making. This can spur individuals and societies to challenge oppression, tyranny and inequality and create space for dialogue, democracy and transformation. While education can empower individuals and societies to effect positive change, it can also be used as an instrument of oppression, social exclusion and cultural, ethnic and gender discrimination. The right type of education is one of the best conflict and risk mitigation strategies available to any society, but when education is delivered in ways that foster intolerance, prejudice and injustice, this can exacerbate wider tensions and make armed conflict more likely.
Access to quality education is a human right, yet this right is not being fully realised for children living in conflict-affected contexts. In many of those places, education, schools, teachers and students are the target. In regions where schools close, providing options for distance education can support populations accessing this right. Governments and education stakeholders around the world have increasingly developed options for remote learning, realising it also improves the education system’s preparedness in case of crisis. The use and access to various technologies however is not always safe or possible. It is then necessary to ensure adaptability and variety in the delivery channels used for remote learning. This can include digital or non-digital options, as well as ensuring the training and support for facilitators or users, while always ensuring that the way of delivering it is not exposing the population to increased risks.
In more and more regions in Niger, education is targeted and many schools are closed, either because buildings have been burnt down, threats have been made or because few teachers are willing to teach in these areas. Physical access and availability of information is complicated.The wider community, children and education staff are under constant stress. In addition to teaching responsibilities, teachers have to deal with their own trauma and often that of children, especially in areas with many displaced or refugee families. Despite these challenges, education is seen as a common good. Communities value education as one of their most important needs and as a solution to keep children out of trouble, with the hope that things could change in the future. The right to education is strongly threatened and supporting formal schools and education efforts can create significant risks to life. For Non-State Armed Groups, education institutions represent Western systems and values. They are also the symbol of the State and school personnel are the main resource person in the communities. Having an educated population prevents armed groups from being able to recruit young men to fight for them or take young girls to marry. Education is a catalyst for change, by giving people agency enabling them to think for themselves and make more informed decision about their future.
Implementation of the multi-year education ‘Projet d’appui à la scolarisation des enfants vulnérables des régions de Tillabéri et de Tahoua affectées par la crise humanitaire’ began in Niger in October 2020. The aim is to enable children affected by the security crisis to have access to quality education, strengthening social cohesion and well-being. As part of this programme, Concern worked with the Ministry of Education to develop and ensure access to interactive audio learning in areas where schools are closed and children have no access to education. Those lessons are based on Rising On Air scripts that have been adapted by a Ministry taskforce to support children in basic literacy and numeracy.
However, as mentioned above, accessing education is a risk in those areas since Non-State Armed Groups target education infrastructure or personnel. To ensure minimal risk to the population and to do no harm, a Conflict Sensitive Education Analysis was carried out at the start of the project to better understand the conflict context, dynamics, actors and the risks to education. The findings of this analysis were used to adapt the activity and the methods of delivery. Follow up was done throughout a pilot phase of implementation for communities to be able to claim their basic right of access to education without increasing the risk to their life. In addition, the data allowed the programme team to identify opportunities where education can strengthen inclusion, social cohesion and peace building.
This panel will be comprised of three main presentations highlighting learning from a series of studies and programs aimed at understanding how distance education and, more specifically, interactive audio learning can be offered as an opportunity to support people claiming their right to education. It will specifically look into contexts where education is targeted because it is a symbol of state power and gives people agency to make informed decisions for their future, things that terrorist armed groups are fighting against. Panelists will therefore look into why families in a variety of contexts prioritize education, how interactive audio education can play a role where there is no other access and how organizations can ensure they do no harm by supporting communities to access education where this right is being repressed.

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