Earthquake and Education in Emergencies: An Opportunity and a Challenge
Rabia Nusrat and Baela Raza Jamil
Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi, Pakistan
Paper for presentation at 9th UKFIET International Conference on Education and Development 11 – 13 2007 Going for Growth? School, Community, Economy, Nation
Oxford, UK
Over the past few years, emergency responses have gradually been changing.[1] While food, shelter and water remain as mandatory requirements in such situation, they are clearly seen as being insufficient, meeting only basic human needs and having little effect on restoration of dignity and even less sense of purpose. Education is now clearly viewed as the “ fourth pillar” , alongside the pillars of nourishment, shelter and health services (Norwegian Refugee Council et. al.1999: 26; Midttun, 2000a: 3–4; ICWAC, 2000: 9).
In emergency situations, such as the aftermath of a natural disaster, children, women and the disabled are the most vulnerable, with their world suddenly transforming, leaving them with an irresolute future.[2] Experiences of such calamities affect children physically and/or psychologically; many of them are injured, are separated from families, are without any shelter and may face sexual or physical harassments (UNICEF, 2006). Education, in the aftermath of such misfortunes, plays a very significant healing role in revitalizing and reconnecting the affected children.[3] Delimited by uncertainties, under these conditions a school serves as a central platform towards stability and predictability, not only for the child, but his/her family’s life, infusing a sense of emotional and social normalcy for all those associated with the institution.[4] Schools also become channels of communication promoting messages on health, hygiene, protection and citizenship for the affected communities, teaching them the much needed new life skills (Anderson et. al 2006). Moreover, children in crisis, who have gained useful knowledge and skills through quality education, are better prepared to contribute to the process of rebuilding their own lives, that of their communities and wider social structures.
South Asia faces many different types of emergencies; natural disasters such as floods , droughts or earthquakes are frequent in this area (Mathieu, 2006). Whereas education is seen as a “central pillar” in humanitarian response, the sector itself is also affected in such calamities. Education was deeply affected by the earthquake which hit Gujrat, India in 2001, by Tsunami in 2004 which deeply effected three countries in South Asia.( ibid, 2006) and by earthquake in Pakistan, AJK & India in 2005. For developing countries like Pakistan, any such occurrence is not only a strain on the already stretched education budget lines, but also has dire consequences for future generations. In these countries , where the education sector remains in a state of silent emergency, situations like these ironically can be considered as an opportunity to build better systems, bridging the gaps in access, quality of education as well as gender parity.
The devastating earthquake of October 8, 2005 in the northern districts of Pakistan including Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) left 73,000 people dead, 70,000 injured, and another 2.8 million without shelter.[5] There has been a strong focus on education in the earthquake response in Pakistan as explained by the scale and nature of the devastation within the sector : many thousands of children who died perished at school, as school buildings collapsed( Anderson et. Al, 2006). This grave picture became an effective appeal for agencies with a child-focused mandate. At the same time, the Emergency Cell, later the Transitional Relief Cell, and the Pakistan Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) set up by the government to coordinate the response, identified education as a priority sector at an early stage (ibid, 2006).
Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) or Centre for Education and Consciousness, in the capacity of a non-state provider, has been working for the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the education sector in AJK region since November 2005. Extending its work across 250 schools at primary, middle and secondary levels, covering almost 35,000 beneficiaries through systemic and policy based approaches, it has accumulated an invaluable experience of innovations and lessons learnt. With a focus on a holistic basis for education and learning processes, ITA clearly saw itself as an interim technical and humanitarian support agency, until the people and government of AJK recovered from the current crisis to take forward their own progress. It was indeed a humbling moment for ITA, when it was selected as one of the few NGOs to be the recipient of an Award from the Prime Minister of AJK on behalf the people of AJK.
This paper would focus on the interventions of non-state providers in general and ITA in particular through a project entitled Enabling Rehabilitation Though Education from 2005-2007 [6] in the AJK region, a contested area since 1947 having a unique political economy. The first section of the paper draws attention towards the case of AJK as being a contested territory and the implications of this contention from the perspective of its political economy and development of the state. The second section of the paper reviews the situation of the education sector in AJK and the effects of the earthquake on the sector. The next section of the paper introduces the role of ITA in the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction as a non-state provider. The section also infers on the role of non-state providers in the education sector in Pakistan. The last section of the paper focuses on the issues and challenges faced and the opportunities that have emerged.
The Case of AJK
The State of Kashmir has been a contested territory for Pakistan and India since 1947( Curtis, 1997). Divided into two divisions (Muzaffarabad and Mirpur) andeight (8)administrative districts, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir, or the Pakistan side of the Kashmir, has over the years not been able to achieve the required social and physical development or exploit its full potential [7]. Though the area is rich in natural resources[8] and tourism[9], it remains out of the productive mainstream of agriculture, industry and services. This may be more by design than by default. Based on the population census of 1998 and taking into account the annual increase ,the current population is 3.513 million with roughly 88% living in rural areas[10], depending on forestry, livestock and agriculture for its subsistence.[11] A large percentage of the population is also dependent on remittances from abroad (Pakistan and international) for its survival (Suleri & Savage, 2006). Based on the fact that there is a lack of industry and services in the region and a high percentage of population lives out of the geographical boundaries in search of work, the residing population is low on skills and vocations. In the aftermath of the earthquake, it is further expected that the economy of AJK is likely to experience further out-migration, especially among the relatively more affluent sections of the population, while the more indigent survivors of the disaster are likely to be left behind, with heavy dependence on doles, relief, and reconstruction work being provided by the government and relief agencies.[12] This would mean that the area has a mixed potential to be housed by population living on charity, seeking compensatory claims for shelter/housing, short to medium term relief and reconstruction work rather than on sustained productive employment.[13] This coupled with prevalence of rent-seekers at various levels in an economy fuelled by ‘claims’, would further give birth to a generation of “takers” rather than “doers”![14] In this scenario the post earthquake education interventions become strategic and much needed influential forces required to perform a two-pronged role; one to infuse a sense of normalcy amongst the displaced and the affected and secondly to provide quality education opportunities, with a potential to prepare them to play a productive role in the rehabilitation and rebuilding of their region, encouraging them to move out of decades of dependency to designing new pathways towards productive development.
The fact that financial control of the State, comprising of 48 assembly members[15], remains in the hands of government in Islamabad makes AJK a very interesting case. AJ&K has been entirely dependent upon the Government of Pakistan for the financing of its development outlays and the financing of its Public Sector Development Programme. [16] The Government of Pakistan ensured participation of AJK Government in the case of channeling of aid towards AJK after the earthquake. While in NWFP, the donors and aid was directed towards Peshawar, the aid for Kashmir was channeled not through Muzaffarabad but through Islamabad since AJK is constrained from directly conducting foreign trade or foreign aid negotiations( Bamforth and Qureshi, 2007). This client relationship is also one of convenience of subservience which has become dependent on others doing the thinking for AJK and being responsible for its risk. This trait became further apparent when the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction plans were chalked out and solid proactive input from Kashmiri counterparts remained a major challenge.
Education Sector in AJK
There are 7,444 government and private educational institutions in 8 districts of AJK (WFP, DoE AJK, 2004/05); 84 % of these are government institutions with an enrolment of 555, 659. 54 % of these government schools are for boys and 45 % are for girls. 23 % of these schools are mosque schools, 46 % are primary schools, 17 % middle and 9 % are high schools. 66 % students are enrolled in primary level, 20 % in middle level and 8 % in high schools. The low transition rates highlight a potential for non-state providers to fill the provision gaps in public sector education.
Table 1: Missing Facilities in Government Schools in AJK
Missing facilities / % of Govt. SchoolsNo drinking water / 68 %
No electricity / 76 %
No latrines / 54 %
No boundary wall / 86 %
No playground / 88 %
No Libraries / 90 %
Education Statistics Azad Jammu and Kashmir 2004-05 , EMIS Cell, Department of Education, AJK & Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping Unit, United Nations World Food Program
An analysis of the situation of the education sector in AJK confirms the silent emergency existing in the sector even before the destruction caused by the earthquake of 8th October. Inadequate facilities coupled with limited access to education beyond primary in public sector are a clear deterrent for parents to send their children to schools. Poverty and involvement in household work and farming are identified as the main reasons for student’s absenteeism from school (Education Statistics Report, 2004-5), which shows that parents have little faith in the primary level education which is in most cases the only option available for them.
Damage assessments, of the education sector in the aftermath of the earthquake, indicated large-scale destruction at all levels; with 95 % of the schools damaged in the AJK region and 53 % of the schools in five affected districts of NWFP.[17] An estimated 853 teachers and 18,095 students lost their lives to the earthquake( ERRA, 2006). Many of the survivors were seriously injured, disabled and traumatized. According to conservative estimates, total damage for the fully and partially damaged educational buildings, materials, furniture and equipment added upto Rs. 19.92 billion (US$335 million) for both AJK and NWFP.[18] The damage incurred was not confined to infrastructure only; classroom equipment and textbooks were also destroyed. Even more devastating were the implications of the human loss and injury! Whereas the death of students meant the loss of a generation, the deaths of teachers represented losses to the teaching force, and also to government investment.
ITA’s Contributions as a Non-State Provider
Role of Non-State Providers
Non-State providers ( NSPs) continue to become major players in provision of basic services in health, infrastructure and education in Pakistan both in the private and public sector as contracted partners. In education almost 33% of education provision is accounted for by non-state providers (National Education Census 2006). The pressure for EFA goals and the MDGs to address access with gender equity as well as the anchor role of education in poverty reduction, is mounting on the government. In recent years, the non-state providers (NGOs, faith-based organizations, communities and commercially-oriented private entrepreneurs) have emerged as major players taking on different roles. These range from NSP support to government for different aspects of service delivery in the public sector as well as their independent establishment of non-state schools as alternative provisions where the government has failed to meet the demand ( Rose , 2007).
The 2005 earthquake has continued to challenge the Governments of Pakistan and AJ&K to look for alternatives to assist in rebuilding and ensuring access to quality education for all the children. The Government had already begun to acknowledge its limits as a provider under the Education Sector Reforms (ESR) Action Plan 2001-2005/6 suggesting a cross cutting role for public private partnerships encouraging options for its role as a financier and an enabling agent .[19] To offset capacity of the state, especially the collapsed seat of government in Muzaffarabad in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, non-state providers stepped in as part of the voluntary humanitarian response adapting skills of the silent emergency in education in Pakistan to the challenges of the earthquake and its aftermath in NWFP and AJK. Whilst in Pakistan the emergence of non-state providers in public sector services has been taking firm root since the late 90s further supported by the national policy on public private partnerships (2003, 2006), this was a relatively new phenomenon in AJK. NSPs, in the past, have worked in service delivery of secular and religious education but have not worked alongside public sector. The situation changed in the aftermath of the earthquake, when various national and international organizations stepped in to play a substantial role to reconstruct the social and economic infrastructure, and give technical help to the affectees.[20] With regards to the education sector too, many NSPs, including NGOs, corporate sector, concerned citizens and volunteers stepped forward to help in several segments of access, quality and equity. In addition to the international NGOs, local NGOs such as National Rural Support Program, READ Foundation, SUNGI Development Foundation, Kashmir Education Foundation, Islamic Relief and ITA have contributed to the revival of public sector education facilities through school rehabilitation and improvement projects. Their interventions have included provision of school supplies, construction of semi-permanent structures , arrangements of educational sponsorships for children, hiring of para teachers and trainings for teachers. Private education institutions have also played a very vital part in revival of education after the earthquake. Their efforts have been directed towards taking students out of trauma and ensuring that students and teachers are given detailed information regarding preparedness in case of natural disasters such as the earthquake.