What is the relationship between education systems and conflict? How should policymakers deal with education in post-conflict situations? This paper by the World Bank (WB) argues that schools are usually complicit in conflict. Simultaneously, reforming education is viewed as a critical element in the strategy to reduce the risk of conflict or relapse into conflict. Conflict presents not only challenges for reconstruction but also significant opportunities for reform of education systems.
The challenge of simultaneous reform and reconstruction of education at a time of constrained human, financial, and institutional resources calls for particular attention to priorities and the sequencing of interventions. Short-term immediate responses need to be conceptualised within a longer-term framework. Conflict should be analysed in the context of its impact on development. Reducing poverty and decreasing reliance on primary commodity exports have been shown to be critical strategies for reducing the risk of conflict. Ethnic or religious dominance is a powerful contributory factor in civil conflict; education has a key role in mediating or deepening identity-based conflicts. Education that helps to build resilience to conflict is a critical strategy for post-conflict reconstruction. Conflict has a devastating impact on education, in terms of the suffering and psychological impact on the pupils and teachers and in the degradation of the education system and its infrastructure.
Fortunately, schools and education systems are surprisingly resilient. The disruption caused by conflict offers opportunities as well as challenges for social reconstruction. In facing challenges on all fronts, several important points emerge:
- Focus on the basics to get the system functioning so that the return of children and youth to school can be seen as an early ‘peace dividend’ that will help to shore up support for peace.
- Acknowledge the importance of symbolism in education and ensure some bold symbolic actions (such as purging textbooks) signaling that reform has started.
- Build recognition that reform of education is an incremental process that must be led from within the country as consensus develops on the wider development vision of that society.
- Focus on building capacity for reform that includes supporting the participation of communities, local authorities and other stakeholders.
- Prioritise basic education within a system-wide approach; decentralise the system to encourage parental involvement in school governance. Build the capacity of the central authorities to ensure an enabling environment for decentralisation.
- Build effective partnerships and work closely with interagency coordination mechanisms; recognise the contribution that returning refugees, and especially youth, can make to the process of education reconstruction.
The World Bank has played a significant role in supporting education reconstruction. There are several directions that it might take to make its impact more effective. These include:
- Introducing a stronger focus on prevention into its post conflict work, which still tends to concentrate heavily on transition and recovery.
- More active involvement in global collaboration for greater country-level coordination.
- This would build on established strengths of the WB in sector analysis and capacity-building for reform, data collection and consolidation, and knowledge sharing.
- Elaboration of the existing Watching Brief approach used by the WB during conflict and a greater focus on youth and secondary education.
- More systematic focus on the private sector, training, and market aspects of education.
