Rebuilding education in fragile contexts: World Vision in South Sudan

• In Event: Survive, Adapt, Thrive: Education and fragile context programming approaches in South Sudan, West Bank, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe

Proposal

Survive and Adapt

South Sudan is one of the most fragile contexts in the world. The signing of the revitalized agreement on the resolution of the conflict in South Sudan in September 2018 set the stage for a brighter future following a five-year civil war. Despite this glimmer of hope, the conflict has left the country’s population exposed to the ongoing risks and consequences of state war including large population displacements, chronic inflation, civil unrest and food insecurity. In this volatile environment, the already fragile education system has deteriorated at both the system and service delivery levels, leaving South Sudan with a staggering illiteracy rate of 73% (81% female, 65% male) (World Bank, 2012). According to Education Cannot Wait, more than 2.2 million school-aged children in South Sudan have been dropped out of school due to the continuous conflict. This is one of the highest rates in the world. In some areas, girls make up to 75 per cent of the children outside the education system. The breakdown of the education system has left girls and boys exposed to suffering extreme levels of violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect.
Nearly one in every three schools in conflict-affected areas have been destroyed, damaged, occupied or closed. Even during times of fragile peace, access to quality education is hindered by the low number of trained teachers, long and dangerous journeys to school and insecurity in and around the schools (corporal punishment, school and gender-based violence, bullying). School fees and cultural mindsets, including forced child marriage and child labour, and limited access to latrines for menstrual hygiene management are also common barriers to education access. To address these barriers and ensure education programmes are always a good fit with the reality on the ground, education responses must be constantly adjusted as contexts change, enabling children to survive and adapt throughout the turbulence.

Impact of education on problem

Education programming in South Sudan will ultimately contribute to poverty reduction by providing boys and girls with increased access to safe, quality, inclusive and gender-responsive education. World Vision’s survival-oriented education projects take place primarily in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and in communities recently affected by violence, while adaptation-oriented programming occurs in communities experiencing relative stability. Temporary learning spaces have been constructed in an IDP camp in fragile Upper Nile where teachers are supported and trained by World Vision on topics including psychosocial support and basic teaching pedagogy. In Yambio, a relatively stable part of the country, accelerated learning programs are established, teachers trained, and peace clubs established in schools. Education development programming in South Sudan protects lives, renews hope, restores relationships, and defends the dignity of children and their families in order to address the root causes of conflict and fragility.

Lessons and recommendations

It is imperative to regularly follow up on the “temperature” of the fragile context in which a project is operating to determine if any changes or adjustments need to be made to ensure that the project is not undermined by crises or underachieving due to stability.

Author

• Emma Genest, World Vision Canada