Dear EiE colleagues,

We are pleased to share the 26^th issue of the Global Education Cluster newsletter. Our newsletter is issued every month and is primarily produced by and for Education Cluster members and partners at global and country level. It provides updates on country clusters, RRT deployments, global events, and includes the latest resources related to education in emergencies. Please share this newsletter with colleagues, partners, country cluster members and other colleagues who might find the information and contacts useful.

ETHIOPIA
Ethiopia is experiencing one of the worst droughts in decades. Assessments indicate that more than 2 million primary school students have been affected. In the end of 2015, the Ethiopian Ministry of Education and cluster co-lead agencies UNICEF and Save the Children requested RRT support to assess the education coordination situation and to provide guidance on strengthening the coordination in the immediate future. They had already identified information management as a priority area.
 
In response, Annelies Ollieuz (Senior Coordinator) and Dominik Koeppl (Information Manager) deployed mid-January, for 3 and 6 weeks respectively. They have focused on revitalizing and formalizing the Cluster at national and sub-national level. This includes strong outreach to mobilise and map partners, and ensuring all involved are clear about the purpose of coordination. They also took the initiative to develop an implementation strategy for the 2016 Humanitarian Requirements Document (the Ethiopian version of the Humanitarian Response Plan), agreeing on geographical and activity prioritisation, a common response package, and Cluster standards. The first draft, based on extensive consultation, is now being taken forward by Gøril Tomren (RRT Cluster Coordinator), who deployed in early February for 6 weeks, and will continue to strengthen the Cluster and train the national Cluster Coordinator who is currently being recruited.
 
One of the main challenges of the Ethiopia Education Cluster is the partners’ lack of EiE funding. Very few partners are currently implementing a drought response with dedicated EiE funding. Some others have reprogrammed development funding for an initial drought response while they are applying for dedicated funding. OCHA excluded education and child protection from the first 2016 call for proposals for in-country pooled funding, though, which limits partners’ funding opportunities. With the support of the Cluster Lead Agencies, the Cluster team is currently addressing this deprioritisation at the highest level.

Additional resources:

COMMON PLATFORM ON EDUCATION IN EMERGENCIES AND PROTRACTED CRISES
Works continues apace with the development of a proposed working model for the common platform for education in emergencies and protracted crises. Significant contributions were made through the global consultation process facilitated by INEE. In addition Ellen Van Kalmthout and James Sparkes, global Education Cluster coordinators, participated in a two day workshop in New York with members of the Technical Strategy Group (February 9th-10th).
As part of the process two country scoping missions were undertaken to Lebanon and South Sudan. Global Education Cluster RRT Tyler Arnot supported the South Sudan mission with inputs finalised by 25th February. Over the coming weeks several working groups operating under the TSG will develop a more detailed document which should be finalised in March. The Platform is expected to be launched at an EiE event during the World Humanitarian Summit in May.

UPDATE ON STAFF CHANGES IN THE GLOBAL EDUCATION CLUSTER TEAM
Education Cluster Unit: Ellen van Kalmthout will be moving on from Geneva in the near future to embark on a new step in her career as Chief of Education with UNICEF Pakistan. Ellen has served as Global Education Cluster Coordinator for over five years, and has been engaged in the Education Cluster since its very beginning. James Sparkes will also be leaving the Global Education Cluster, at the end of April. James has served as global Coordinator for Save the Children for over four years. His history with the cluster also goes back even further. Before joining as coordinator, he was engaged with the cluster both at country and global levels, including stints as Education Cluster Coordinator in Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.

Both Ellen and James have made a tremendous contribution to the work of the Education Cluster, education in emergencies, and the broader humanitarian community, working extensively with global partners, inter-agency groups and country clusters. James and Ellen made a formidable and harmonious team, who exemplified co-leadership and partnership.

It is expected that the new global Education Cluster coordinator at UNICEF will be appointed soon. Recruitment for the position of global coordinator with Save the Children is ongoing. Applications can be submitted online until March 2nd.

Nadira Maleq joined the cluster as Coordination Associate at UNICEF in February and will work with the cluster until the end of July, in particular supporting communication work and working closely with Lisa Sabot-Schmid. Nadira studied international relations in Geneva and holds a master degree in Globalisation and Development Studies. She has experience as Project Manager for an NGO specialised in peace education and previously worked as a primary school teacher in special needs education.

Rapid Response Team: Risto Ihalainen, Education Cluster coordinator - RRT member with Finn Church Aid since January 2015, has left to join NRC as Education Programme Manager in Goma (DRC). Gøril Tomren, Education Cluster coordinator - RRT member with Save the Children Norway since April 2014, will leave her RRT position at the end of March. Both have provided extended support to country clusters, including CAR, Iraq, Nepal and Ethiopia, through deployment and remote support. With their expertise and positive attitude, they have been a joy to work with. We wish them all the best of luck in their new endeavours.

Our most experienced RRT members, Annelies Ollieuz and Landon Newby, have taken on new senior positions within the RRT, with focus on supporting RRT management and contributing to strengthening capacity and frameworks for country-level cluster coordination.

The Rapid Response Team is expanding in 2016 with recruitment currently underway or near finalisation  through our global partners Finn Church Aid (one coordinator and one IM specialist), Save the Children UK (one NA/IM specialist) and Save the Children Norway (one coordinator).

LATEST RESOURCES

• The UN Secretary-General’s report One Humanity: Shared Responsibility was released mid-February for the World Humanitarian Summit in May. The report contains a call for reform in humanitarian aid architecture and very important ideas, such as bridging the humanitarian-development divide. Education is also giving some prominence in the 3rd core responsibility, with a section entitled “eliminate gaps in education for children, adolescents and youth”. However, although the report pushes for coordination to focus on collective outcomes there is virtually no reference to the cluster system.

• On January 17, UN Secretary-General launched the report of the independent High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Funding, Too Important to Fail - addressing the challenges of humanitarian financing, presenting bold and actionable ideas to narrow the widening gap between rising humanitarian needs and available resources. Download the report and related resources here.

• The new UNICEF MENA study Economic Loss from School Dropout due to the Syria Crisis: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Impact of the Syria Crisis on the Education Sector captures the current picture of the economic loss and gauges the magnitude of rebuilding the education sector. The findings emphasize the importance of providing access to education for children during emergencies and transitional periods of war and conflict. There is a serious gap between the benefits that education could bring to the Syrian economy and society and the actual funding that the education sector and cluster receive from the international community. The study suggests that the benefit of bringing children back to school in the long run might be seriously underestimated among donors and stakeholders. It is hoped that the findings will contribute to raising funds and that the methodology of the analysis is applied to other emergencies.

• Human Rights Watch new report Studying Under Fire: Attacks on Schools, Military Use of Schools During the Armed Conflict in Eastern Ukraine documents how both Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed militants have carried out indiscriminate or deliberate attacks on schools. Both sides have used schools for military purposes, deploying forces in and near schools, which has turned schools into legitimate military targets. The resulting destruction has forced many children out of school and many schools to stop operating or to operate under overcrowded and difficult conditions.

• In her annual report, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Children in Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, expressed her deep concern at the increasing number of attacks on schools, as well as military use of schools, in countries affected by war. Again in 2015, conflict disrupted the education of millions of children, creating a direct challenge to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring quality education for all children. Ms. Zerrougui called for additional funding for education in emergencies and reminded all parties to conflict of their responsibility to ensure safe access to school.

• Click here to download a synthesis report and in-depth studies of attacks on education in South Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Mogadishu, Somalia. Commissioned by the Education Above All Foundation, the report is an attempt to fill some of these information gaps and contribute to the development of improved methodologies for monitoring and responding to such attacks.

• UNRWA has launched a new animated video “Education Brings Hope in Times of Emergencies” to encourage families to utilize UNRWA resources and support their children in re-engaging in education during times of conflict. The video tells the story of 10-year-old Hamza and his older sister Sarah, whose lives are turned upside down when armed conflict erupts in their neighbourhood. It is a depiction of what many Palestine refugee children are facing.

• Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) Training Handbook is now available in English and French. The handbook contains an overview of the training programme, a break-down of sessions on each of the Standard's nine commitments, notes for training facilitators, and templates and worksheets for activities. Download the training handbook here. 

EDUCATION NEWS
Some recent videos and articles you should not miss: