International Rescue Committee Child and Youth Protection and Development Unit Using the INEE Minimum Standards to Achieve Equitable Education CIES 52nd Annual Conference New York City March 17, 2008

Facilitating Equitable Return and Reintegration of Refugee Teachers into Southern Sudan

–“We cherish education for all our people equally and aim to provide a lifelong education for all children and adults of Southern Sudan, an education that is relevant and based on the needs of the people, to enable them to be responsible and productive citizens.” –-Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, GOSS, Mission Statement

Background The most recent conflict between the Khartoum government and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army/Movement that lasted 21 years has largely destroyed the physical and human capital for the education sector. Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed on January 9, 2005 between the government of Sudan and SPLA, ending more than 50 years of civil war This has opened the door to an expected large scale return of over 4 million internally displaced persons and hundreds of thousands Sudanese refugees. Refugees and IDP from Southern origin estimated at 3 million There are at least 1600 Sudanese refugee teachers from Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya that have been trained and have the needed skills to support Southern Sudan’s efforts to revitalize its education system

UNHCR has initiated voluntary repatriation of refugees in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya despite ongoing insecurity in South Sudan and lack of basic services Significant cuts in UNHCR funding for refugee education programs in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya. Education is often considered a pull factor and is thus often the first service cut as a means of ‘encouraging’ refugees to return home Refugees are often ‘encouraged’ to return to home countries that lack basic access to education programs. There is often lack of coordination and information sharing across borders in regards to return and reintegration of refugees Refugees often are not prepared or lack the skills needed to successfully reintegrate back into their home country. Refugee students and teachers often lack the documentation, recognized qualifications, or accreditation to re-enter into the school system Background Cont: Return and Reintegration of Refugee Teachers to Southern Sudan

The Education Status in South Sudan (June 2007) –Poor learning conditions 80% of school-children have no bench to sit on 68% do not have latrines Extremely high pupil/teacher ratios Curricula: being updated but still not standardized. Contextually and culturally relevant? There were only 33 secondary schools with 4,500 students –Poor Outcomes Gross enrollment ratio of 20% seems to be the world’s lowest 40% of children ever enroll in primary education, only 2% finish primary Scarcity of qualified teachers Gender gap is one of worst in the world;

Teachers Are the Most Critical Resource in Education Current primary school enrolment is targeted to leap from its current 25% to 55% by implying a large increase in the demand for teachers Only 7% of teachers are female Qualifications inadequate: –Of over 17,000 teachers, only 16% has a BA/BSc or a higher degree, and the remaining had most likely only been educated to primary or at best been exposed to some secondary –Only 18% assessed their ability to speak English “high”, and 35% felt their capacity was “low” –Language skill in Arabic not much better: 41% felt they had low speaking skills and 30% low writing skills According to the Rapid Assessment of Learning Spaces (RALS) jointly conducted by the MOEST and UNICEF in 2006, teachers in only 56 percent of learning spaces in Southern Sudan have received any training, and of those, most had participated in preparation courses ranging from only two weeks to three months. imbalanced spatial distribution : 10% of the 82 counties accounting for the majority of the staff 14,000 additional teachers required by At the same time need to build teacher training programs from the ground up

Teachers and Other Ed Personnel: Standard 1: Recruitment and Selection A sufficient number of appropriately qualified teachers and other education personnel are recruited through a participatory and transparent process based on selection criteria that reflect diversity and equity Standard 2: Conditions of Work Teachers and other ed personnel have clearly defined conditions of work, follow a code of conduct and are appropriately compensated Standard 3: Support and Supervision Supervision and support mechanisms are established for teachers and other ed personnel, and are used on a regular basis Objective: Achieving INEE Minimum Standards for Recruitment And Reintegration of Returnee Teachers

Key Issues Refugee teachers’ qualifications and training are varied and differ across countries. Difficult to understand the equivalency of their training experiences and qualifications with the system being created in Southern Sudan Returnee teachers often don’ t have realistic expectations regarding the conditions of work, access to basic services, and their role in their home country (i.e. may have to teach under a tree) Returnee teachers often wanting to return to the capital, Juba, instead of going to their area of origin or where teachers are most needed Returnee teachers from Khartoum may only speak Arabic and not English and/or refugee teachers are no longer proficient in local languages Lack of Cross-border coordination mechanisms for sharing information There is often significant tension between returnees and those that ‘stayed behind.’ Returnee teachers choose other professions due to low teacher incentive package

Key issues Cont: Obtaining accurate numbers of existing teachers, the teachers needed, and where unfilled teaching positions exists is difficult in Southern Sudan Strategies for reintegration of teachers must take into consideration coordination with State Ministries of Education who are largely responsible for hiring and deploying teachers In conflict-affected countries, including Southern Sudan, teacher payment is a challenge – teachers are often not paid due to lack of a pay roll, payment delivery system, and mechanisms for ensuring funds are used for teacher salaries Shortage of teachers is often in states that are not the highest area of return for refugee and IDP teachers Return of refugees is often hindered by land mines, presence of LRA rebels, and ongoing security concerns There’s no existing system in Southern Sudan for the recruitment, selection, payment and deployment of teachers

Strategies Across Borders for Achieving INEE Minimum Standards for Refugee Teachers Returning to Southern Sudan Begin consultations with country of origin on the recognition and certification of teacher education in exile. Ensure equivalency of teacher training and qualifications are determined prior to return Create cross-border mechanisms for collecting, aggregating, and disseminating data needed for smooth return and reintegration of refugee teachers. Collect and share information on the supply and demand for teachers Develop tools and materials to support the orientation of returnee teachers prior to their return to ensure they have realistic expectations of the conditions of work and expected role in Southern Sudan Create re-integration kits for refugee teachers that are standardized across countries and recognizable to education officials in SS – standard bio-data form, summary of qualifications and experience, and validated certificates

Strategies in Southern Sudan to Achieve INEE Minimum Standards for Returnee Teachers Juba MoEST Level: Support the hiring of a Return and Reintegration Desk officer in the MoEST to Coordinate across agencies and borders the return and reintegration of returnee teachers and students Establish a thematic working group on the return and reintegration of returnee teachers and students that includes MoEST, UN, and I/NGO agencies in SS Teacher Payment system needs to be strengthened – pay roll established, pay scale based on qualifications and experience, transport system for cash payments to teachers, and systems for ensuring funds transferred to states go to teacher salaries Create a draft policy document to be included in the National Teacher Education Strategy for the successful return and reintegration of returnee teachers State Ministry: Assist State Ministries to assess the existing number of schools and teachers and to estimate the demand and the location of schools in need of additional teachers Second technical advisors to State Ministries of Education to pilot the establishment of recruitment, selection, deployment, and recruitment systems and mechanisms for 200 returnee teachers from Uganda and Kenya Evaluate and document pilot programs to reintegrate returnee teachers and present at the bi-annual Education Reconstruction and Development Forum for feedback from other states Community Level: Work with local partners in Southern Sudan to ensure communities are prepared to accept and support returnee teachers to play their role in providing quality education

Children and Youth Protection and Development Questions?

Children and Youth Protection and Development Questions