Education in crisis situations

GPE supports governments to prepare for, respond to, and recover from crises through technical and financial support to sustain children’s education primarily through national education systems.

In contexts where it is not feasible to work with governments, GPE protects the education system from collapse by supporting elements of the system closest to children and schools, so that learning can continue.

GPE promotes alignment between humanitarian and development actors, working closely with Education Cannot Wait, UNHCR, Education Clusters and other partners, by supporting the inclusion of emergency actors in national planning processes and local education groups. GPE helps facilitate dialogue among these actors to improve linkages and joint planning and avoid fragmentation in planning and financing.

Flexible and accelerated funding: Partner countries experiencing humanitarian crises can request accelerated funding from GPE up to 20% of their maximum allocation, with an approval in as little as 8 weeks. The funds are used based on the education cluster needs assessment and agreed by the local education group and the education cluster. Activities can include temporary shelters, school meals and school supplies, as well as classroom construction, teacher payments and school grants.

Transitional education planning: GPE provides financial and technical support through the system capacity grant to help partner countries establish a medium-term transitional education plan during a crisis. This plan forms the basis for a coordinated approach by identifying priority actions to maintain progress toward ensuring the right to education, and meeting longer-term educational goals.

Operational framework for effective support in countries affected by fragility and conflict: Under this policy, GPE is able to redirect resources to priority activities arising from an emergency.