Skip to main content

Comprehensive School Safety Policy: Trends in the Asia-Pacific Region

Countries
World
+ 10 more
Sources
GFDRR
+ 1 more
Publication date
Origin
View original

Executive Summary

The purpose of this project is to identify trends in Comprehensive School Safety (CSS)-related policies in the Asia-Pacific region with attention to factors that may facilitate or block the development or implementation of policies yielding positive outcomes. CSS aims to protect students, ensure educational continuity, safeguard sector investments, and strengthen community risk reduction and resilience through education. It is crucial to ensure that national and sub-national policies support CSS goals and that such policies are well implemented. In-depth analysis of CSS-related policies and policy gaps in the Asia-Pacific region can provide needed insight to government actors on how to better design or shore up policy approaches to risk reduction and resilience in the education sector.

This project was carried out by Save the Children on behalf of the Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector (GADRRRES) with support from the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery and the C&A Foundation.

This report relies upon data compiled in 2016 and 2017 from 24 AsiaPacific countries, 14 of which are Worldwide Safe School Initiative (WISS) Safe School Champions. The data collected indicates that many countries have enabling environments that support CSS, as well as specific policies related to the three pillars of the CSS framework – safe learning facilities, school disaster management, and risk reduction and resilience education. Thematic highlights from the data include:

  • All responding countries have disaster management policies in place. High rates of disaster management policies across the Asia-Pacific region point to the successful achievements of the UNISDR Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015.

  • Most disaster management policies are not fully integrated with the education sector and education policies. Most countries (75%) have disaster management policies that referred to the education sector, yet typically only in the form of a single section or paragraph.

  • Most respondent countries have developed CSS policies that cover all three pillars, yet many policies may not cover all aspects of a pillar.

  • Financial and human resource scarcity is evident in education sector disaster management policies and programming. Survey responses suggest that there are insufficient funds allocated in education sector budgets to fully implement CSS-related policies.

The survey also identifies facilitators and blockers to the development and implementation of CSS policies. Top reported facilitators reported revolve around the themes of advocacy and evidence, while top reported blockers revolve around the themes of resource scarcity.
Statistical analysis finds:

  • Countries that ranked strong civil society advocacy as a top facilitator were much more likely to have policies for the multi-hazard assessment of schools, management of schools as temporary shelters, and in-staff training for teachers and staff on school disaster management, as well as policies that require school facility assessment and policies for addressing disaster impacts on the education sector.

  • Countries that cited senior and mid-level disaster management officials acting as advocates, as a facilitator, were more likely to have education authorities providing schools with guidance and procedures on risk reduction and recovery.

Notably, countries that cited some blockers were nevertheless more likely to have certain CSS policies, suggesting that these blockers may only come to light after CSS policies have been enacted.

Despite large strides in developing and implementing CSS policy, the Asia-Pacific region faces ongoing challenges. To further CSS policy development and implementation, the following recommendations are discussed:

  1. better integration of education and disaster management policies

  2. addressing all CSS responsibilities, targets and indicators

  3. including teachers and students

  4. investing in technical and human resources

  5. collecting and using evidence as a policy-enabling tool.

Many governments of the Asia-Pacific have made great strides over the past 10 years in the development of disaster management policies, and are integrating these policies with those of the education sector. With knowledge of common facilitators and blockers in the AsiaPacific region, governments and supporting partners should cultivate facilitators significantly correlated with CSS policy and develop strategies to address and minimize the effects of the policy-blocking factors. Where policy exists, efforts need to turn to funding, training and integration into everyday practice. From this strong base, CSS policy will not only protect students and staff and ensure educational continuity, it will support a culture of safety that spreads from school to community and from community to nation.