Crisis-sensitive planning

07 November 2011
Burkina Faso puts IIEP’s Guidance Notes to work

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© IIEP
School children in Burkina Faso

In August 2011, IIEP began a technical assistance programme with the Ministry of Education in Burkina Faso, in order to address the risks of natural and man-made disasters which could affect the education sector. The Guidance Notes for Educational Planners: Integrating conflict and disaster risk reduction into education sector planning, recently published by IIEP in collaboration with UNICEF WCARO, is being used as a working text.

The project aims to ensure that disaster risks – related to flooding or drought, for example, or to conflict – are addressed throughout the planning process. A vulnerability analysis has been drafted and discussed with the Ministry of Education to determine the main areas of weakness of the system in terms of preparing for and preventing disasters.

Ministry of education officials described the impacts of flooding, drought, and epidemics, and suggested programmes that can be implemented to reduce the occurrence of such disasters. Suggestions include integrating themes such as civic education and the protection of the environment into teacher training and school manuals, ensuring that schools damaged by recurrent flooding or winds are repaired in a timely manner, and putting a mechanism in place to enable the monitoring of norms for school construction.

These suggestions have been validated by the Permanent Secretary responsible for the development of Burkina Faso’s Strategic Development Programme for Basic Education (PDSEB). They will be integrated into the ten-year sector plan, and a strategy for the implementation of these programmes as well as  mechanisms for the monitoring and evaluation of suggested programmes will be developed with the Ministry.

The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of December 2011.