Promotion and Use: 2006

(view earlier feedback on use - March - May 2005)

Africa Asia and the Pacific Europe Latin America
North Africa & the Middle East North America Articles and in the Press

AFRICA

Benin:

I highly appreciate that the INEE Minimum Standards handbook systematizes intervention and management strategies in emergency situations. I particularly appreciate the guidance notes and the indicators, which provide great guidance to humanitarian workers who have not received training on emergency assistance. I intend to train colleagues at UNICEF, in the government, and NGOs on the INEE Minimum Standards. I will actively take part in organizing trainings at the sub-regional and levels, which will improve planning, implementation, monitoring and coordination of education interventions for Togolese refugees in Benin. I will also be prepared for responding to emergency needs in other situations that I could be faced with.
- Gervais Havyarimana, UNICEF, Administrateur, Programme Education

Burkina Faso:

Plan Burkina is determined to carry out advocacy activities with the Ministry of Education through a series of training involving education stakeholders in our country. A training on the INEE standards could then be held at the regional level and involve representatives from education programs in the Francophone West Africa region.
- Karima Robgo, Plan Internationale, Disaster Point Person

Burkina Faso:

Although the INEE Minimum Standards handbook was developed for emergency situations, it is very useful for countries like Burkina Faso where enrolment rates remain low and gender disparities are high. As a monitoring and evaluation practitioner, the INEE Minimum Standards handbook is a great support to my work.
- Idrissa Kaborne, Research Associate IISP/Chercheur associe ISSP, Universite de Ouagadougou

Burkina Faso:

The INEE Minimum Standards and indicators are useful for the evaluation of educational needs in emergency situations. I will carry out two trainings for staff from CRS Burkina, Mali and Niger and second training for about 65 people from the 13 diocesan OCADES.
- Kassoum OUATTARA, Catholic Relief Services, Head of General Relief, Emergency Response and Peace Building Unit

Burundi:

I consider the INEE Minimum Standards as a guide for the realization of the Millennium Development Goal to achieve education for all by 2015. This tool can help political leaders to develop adapted education policies.
-Ida Ntwawundora, CARE International

Burundi:

CARE Burundi used INEE Minimum Standards in a training session on Project cycle management and gender. They also adopted the indicators on learning environment for two of their education projects and planned to run training for their partners.
-Hassan Mohamed, CARE US

Burundi:

When a USAID assessment team went out to do an education sector assessment in Burundi, they took the INEE Minimum Standards with them and used them on the ground in real-life, real-time assessment exercise. One of the people involved in assessment is facilitating the development of a tool to use to measure fragility and a key resource for this tool will be the INEE Minimum Standards.
-Mitch Kirby, USAID

Chad:

RET Chad staff has used the standards in the concept paper and proposal development for the 2006-2007 Chad programme and expects to apply the standards during the implementation and evaluation phases. The RET staff in Chad, in collaboration with the RET Educational Programme Development Manager, Marina L. Anselme have started developing a monitoring tool, which relate the INEE Minimum Standards to the RET programme objectives to apply in the field. We also use the standards for analysis; we review the guidance notes on assessment standards and endeavour to keep our analysis up to date, for example in Chad, where we started a programme with youth in October 2005. The youth who are involved in the programme participate in regular monitoring, evaluation and adjusting of the programmes. The community participation and utilization and exploitation of available community resources are the key to sustainable education programmes and interventions. For instance, The continual involvement of peer educators in the Life Skills programme and their participation in developing learning programmes was pivotal for the continuation of the programme during a one month break when staff were evacuated from Chad for security reasons. The programme went on unheeded and learners contributed money to buy chalks when the same run out. This in essence shows that the community is mature for sustainability of the programme. Moreover, in Chad and Pakistan, the RET projects have adhered to the standard on using community resources: classes in Chad have been built with the help of refugees and they contributed 2 hours of labour during the constructions in Treguine camp. In this camp, the refugee construction committee carried out the construction. The INEE Minimum Standards indicators and guidance notes are relevant in developing proposals. They are instrumental in evaluating the impact of the programme and are helpful in drawing lessons.
- George Khiara, RET Programme Manager

Chad:

I have been working for NRC on a RET project in Chad, and the report from the first year of the project summarises the results of the evaluation of the Refugee Education Trusts life skills training programme for vulnerable youth in Sudanese refugee camps in Eastern Chad in 2005-2006. This evaluation followed a questionnaire based on the Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction. I plan to discuss and do a brief training on INEE Minimum Standards at the completion of my evaluation mission in Chad.
-Theodora Oikonomides, Education Project Manager, Norwegian Refugee Council

Chad:

I became acquainted with the INEE Minimum Standards through my current work in Eastern Chad. I particularly appreciate the emphasis that this tool lays on community participation and the guidance it gives in this field. This will enable me to improve community participation in further developments of the programme, e.g. in the process for enrolling youth and enhancing education opportunities for girls. The evaluation of the programme is under way with a consultant from NRC, and we are intending to use the INEE Minimum Standards as a framework for our evaluation work. A more in-depth knowledge of the INEE Minimum Standards will enable me to better plan, implement and evaluate programmes in the future and to transmit this knowledge to peer educators and other education partners for better quality and cooperation.
- Mahamat, Aoudjali, RET Refugee Education Trust

Chad:

The INEE Minimum Standards are not only important for education in emergency programs but also in other programs during emergency and post-conflict period. It has been helpful for the design and implementation of protection and gender-based violence programs. During my work I noticed that lack of full participation of communities in assessment and development of education programs. For example in the area of protection and GBV the No harm approach has not been successful in some communities because of the lack of baseline data that describes the realities in the communities. The only way to get such baseline data is to involve the communities in assessment and the development of community education programs. Many interventions tend to forget that ex-combatants and child soldiers are part of groups with special needs in terms of psychosocial services. The INEEs Minimum Standards handbook has been very helpful in this area in terms of training and capacity building for service givers.
-Nyiramana Bibiane, Christian Childrens Fund (CCF)

Cote d'Ivoire: The INEE Minimum Standards represent precious benchmarks in the initial phase of an education project like the one we are working on in Cote d'Ivoire.
-Paul Julien Abogou Braga, Save the Children UK

Democratic Republic of Congo:

Within AVSI, the INEE Minimum Standards are referred to in the development of new donor proposals and are relevant for evaluation methodology. The standards act as a referral when beginning new activities and provide a framework for data collection. I can see how the INEE Minimum Standards are applicable to my project, especially in looking at the Access and Learning Environment chapter. I conducted a two-hour explanation of the INEE Minimum Standards in the AVSI headquarters; the audience was composed of staff members for the project area and staff from the AVSI distant support programme. Participants were interested in the topic and by the end of the session they were able to understand the applicability of the standards, indicators and guidance notes in a practical way.
- Elena Locatelli, AVSI Education Officer

DRC:

I was familiarized with the INEE Minimum Standards through the INEE Africa Collective Consultation to develop the INEE Minimum Standards (Nairobi, Kenya, 21 - 23 January 2004) and through my participation with the Norwegian Refugee Councils (NRC) Global Seminar Education held in Nairobi (27th to 31st March 2006). Through the latter, I received training on INEEs Minimum Standards and I will utilize them through future trainings with NRC.
- Clestin Kamori Banga, NRC, Education Programme Manager and Trainer

Kenya:

The INEE Minimum Standards are a key reference and set of guidelines that I use to guide my work when doing field assessments (e.g. Chad), monitoring (Angola, Liberia, Tanzania, etc.) and evaluation (Burundi, DRC, Kenya) as well as for developing exit strategies. The more I use the INEE Minimum Standards and give various trainings or facilitate discussions with others, the more useful and relevant I find them in my work. I have distributed the INEE standards materials throughout JRS Africa to regional, country and project directors. For example, in June 2006, I gave the handbook in English and French to Radio Kwizera, based in Ngara in Northwestern Tanzania, which broadcasts for the Burundian refugee population and the local community. Presently, the Radio offers 16 programs in formal education as well as radio education programs for schools and more than 20 non-formal education programs. The languages of broadcast include Swahili, Kirundi, English, and French.
During my meetings and debriefing sessions with JRS education field staff, I frequently refer to the INEE Minimum Standards as they relate to project implementation and give guidance for ongoing work. I have shared the INEE Minimum Standards with partners based in Nairobi and also with colleagues of other organizations involved in education, particularly in South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. I also organized an INEE Minimum Standards workshop for Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) education personnel, regional and country directors in April 2006 in Southern Africa (Angola, Malawi, Nambia, South Africa and Zimbabwe).
- Roxanne Schares, Jesuit Refugee Service, Education Resource Person for Africa

Liberia:

As the projects already are running, I use the standards as a checklist that we are covering/doing what we are supposed to. I might consult the standards later this year when starting yet another project in Education - pending a policy decision at HQ.
- Eva Andree, NRC Liberia, Project Manager Education

Mali:

The INEE Minimum Standards handbook represents invaluable input for situations, such as Mali, that are regularly struck by bad harvests and which provoke the migration of young people to urban centers. After my training on the INEE Minimum Standards (Francophone TOT Workshop, July 2006), I am planning on restituting the training to CARE Mali in Bamako and also for 3 regional CARE offices. The activities will be integrated in trainings to CAREs key partners, such as teachers, school headmasters, pedagogical counselors, parents associations, womens groups, etc.
- Yoby Guindo, CARE International au Mali, Spcialiste en Education

Niger: The INEE Minimum Standards handbook is a very useful tool to assess education in emergency situations or before starting education intervention in countries facing difficulties. I found this tool to be particularly useful for teacher training. I have shared the code of conduct for education personnel with other colleagues working in basic services to adapt it to situations in times of crisis.
- Sara Poehlman-Doumbouya, UNICEF, Administratrice Education

Nigeria: We are using the INEE Minimum Standards for public information and awareness. It guides members when they report on quality education. School administrators are praising our informed effort and the government is being awakened.
- Sachia Ngutsav, Society of Journalists and Communicators for Education for All (SJC)

Senegal: The handbook made me realize that INEE Minimum Standards for education in emergencies needs to be mastered by educators so that education is adapted to childrens situation during armed conflict. I will share my knowledge in the border zone between Senegal and Guinea, as well as in villages in Casamance, which have been most affected by the conflict. This work will take place in partnership with teachers working in formal and informal education.
- Eysebio Jose Dasylva, Superviseur de sante

Senegal: The INEE Minimum Standard handbook teaches us that children, adolescents and youth have a right to education in emerg