Name of the Conference Date Providing a Relevant Education for Displaced Children in the Andaman Sea Crisis UNESCO Summit on Flexible Learning Strategies for OOSC

Presentation overview Context overview Displaced children education needs Education in Emergencies (EiE) curriculum framework Focus : Language considerations in an EiE response Lessons learnt

Context overview: Andaman Sea Crisis Displaced people : ethnic Muslim minority in Myanmar Lack of basic rights and citizenship, violence in Rakhine State led more than 120,000 people to flee Myanmar since 2012 Over 1,100 people are estimated to have died at sea along the route form the Bay of Bengal to the Andaman Sea since 2014 Many migrants and refugees are victims of human trafficking

Context overview : Thai shelters Most men are placed in immigration detention centres (IDCs) Women, children and small number of men are placed in temporary shelters, run by Thai government and supported by Save the Children Education not considered an essential service and not in shelters’ mandate Shelters lack capacity or systems to provide education

Displaced children needs SC’s diagnostic revealed that many children lack basic reading and numeracy skills, many were OOSC Adults also have low levels of formal education and literacy Case profiles reveal numerous psycho-social effects of displacement on adults and children Chaotic, alien environment High level of future protection risk Need for educational AND psycho- social activities

Education in Emergencies Numeracy Pre-Assessment by Gender 100% = Grade Two Proficiency

Education in Emergencies Pre-Assessment 1 = letter knowledge 2 = short words 3 = one paragraph 4 = short narrative

Why education in emergencies? Right to Development Stability & Psychosocial impact Protection & Life Skills

Education in Emergencies (EiE) Curriculum Framework Curriculum Framework EiE standards & child rights Multi-Level Education Community- Based Education Multi- Lingual & Indigenous Education

Education in emergencies (EiE) Curriculum Core content Numeracy Mother Tongue Life Skills & SEL Second Languages

Key Strategies Strengthening educational and life skills development through complementary approaches- some examples Healing and Education through ART (HEART) : uses expressive arts (painting, music…) to provide psychosocial support and create engaging learning environments for children Reading Clubs : promotes children’s reading skills in mother tongue language Story Time : uses picture books and story-telling to create security and connection for children and promote their cognitive and emotional development

In Depth Focus: Mother Tongue Education Why is learning in mother tongue important?

Or, to put the question another way… 13 Why does this child need to learn in a language he can understand? And put like that, the answer seems rather obvious…: because the child needs to understand what they are supposed to be learning.

Reasons for MT in early learning 14 Mother Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education Improved understanding of curriculum Improved foundational skills (literacy, numercay) Stronger second language learning Increased confidence & participation Preservation of cultures & languages Brings schools & communities closer Social cohesion & peace Cost- effectiveness

Reading is a product of two important sub-skills: oral language comprehension and decoding ability. 15 The Simple View of Reading : Why is it better to learn to read in mother tongue?

Focus : Developing MT reading with new script Historically an un-written language, approximately 1.8M speakers globally. Latin script based system Similar to English alphabet, leading to facilitated transition upon resettlement to the USA or Malaysia

How to promote MT and script development Encourage and facilitate in through : – Oral activities, such as sharing stories, songs, Math games in mother tongue – Written activities, such as review of alphabet, writing and reading words and texts in mother tongue – Material creation with community members – Community members and parents to support children

Additional Benefits of Mother Tongue for Displaced Population Feeling of disorientation Historical marginalization & denial of right to language and script Disengagment of parents from education There are clear psychosocial benefits for displaced children learning in a familiar language Recognition of rights & building cultural self- esteem Supporting parents as key actors in language development

Conclusions Education must be considered an essential service in a situation of emergency or displacement Education in emergencies must address both cognitive development as well as social and emotional learning and well-being Language is a key consideration in a EiE response. There are additional reasons why mother tongue based education is important in an emergency context.

Thank you for your attention!