Why East Africa’s Education Systems Must Build Climate Resilience Now: Three Takeaways from a Conference
Photo of Hannah Simmons presenting at the East African Community Education Conference in Arusha. Credit: Hannah Simmons.
5.2 million East Africans were affected by heavy rains caused by El Niño in 2023. (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 2023). Many learners lost access to their education for months, resulting in subsequent loss of learning and increased dropout. This stark reality highlights the need for rapid engagement on Climate Resilience for Education Systems in East Africa.
How can education systems become more resilient in the face of climate change?
This was the question EdTech Hub Country Leads for Kenya and Tanzania addressed at the inaugural East African Community Education Conference in Arusha in August.
Hannah Simmons and Johnpaul Barretto (EdTech Hub leads in Tanzania), and Ciku Mbugua (EdTech Hub co-lead in Kenya) delivered a hands-on, thought-provoking workshop for delegates from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia, the U.S., U.K. and beyond.
The workshop, funded by FCDO Tanzania, prompted participants to conceptualise resilience, interrogate the role of technology, and map the tools, data and human capacity. Participants cited what’s available and what’s missing in their contexts when it comes to educational preparedness, response and rehabilitation.
With participants including governments, donors, development partners, international NGOs, CSOs and researchers, the discussion was lively and the shared learnings invaluable. Here are three key takeaways that should be factored into future climate conversations :
🌱 Take-away 1: Governments need to unpack the term ‘resilience’
The term ‘resilience’ is fast following in the footsteps of ‘inclusion’ and ‘tech-integration’ — it has become a key word in the education sector plans and strategy documents of East African nations.
Given the last decade has seen the region impacted by a global pandemic, protracted refugee crises, and increased weather hazards, resilience certainly merits urgent government attention.
We asked participants to brainstorm the major needs and stakeholders of a resilient education system, and to generate a statement on ‘What is a resilient education system?’
The process, and statements produced, revealed something important: stakeholders currently don’t have a coherent, common understanding of what resilience means in the context of their respective education systems.
Some groups emphasised the importance of being adaptive and agile, while others used terms like, tech-centric and community-driven.
Each nation should have a sense of ownership over what they mean by resilience, so we should expect and accept differences and nuances. The fact that very few participants from this diverse group had ever needed to define ‘resilience’ suggests that while the term is gaining popularity, it still lacks a clear and shared understanding.
For stakeholders to work collaboratively and harmoniously to strengthen the resilience of education systems, it is critical that governments first lead in unpacking what resilience means to them.
⚖️ Take-away 2: Stakeholders want to measure impact but aren’t sure how
The stakeholders in the workshop all expressed an eagerness to measure the impact of interventions, particularly in the face of challenges like climate change, whose impact is being felt across the region. However, much like the term ‘resilience,’ the concept of ‘impact’ is often used without a shared understanding of what it truly means.
During discussions, it became clear that while there is consensus on the importance of impact measurement, there is significant variation in how different groups define and approach it. Some view impact through a technological lens, focusing on data-driven outcomes, while others emphasise community engagement and long-term adaptability.
This lack of a common framework or agreed-upon metrics makes it difficult for stakeholders to assess whether their efforts are truly making a difference. To move forward, governments and organisations must work together to clarify what ‘impact’ means within their specific contexts, developing tailored tools and methodologies that allow for accurate and meaningful assessment.
As a regional bloc, development of a common framework aligns with the goals to harmonise the delivery of quality education. Only then can the region ensure that the education systems they are striving to strengthen are truly resilient and responsive to the needs of all learners.
📈 Take-away 3: The sector needs better access to timely data
Decision-making for resilience requires data from multiple sources and a cross-sectoral approach. Participants cited meteorological authorities, national examination boards, population censuses and implementers of donor-funded education initiatives as being key sources of relevant data. However, gaining access to such data in a timely manner is far from straight forward.
Data from national censuses are normally generated every decade. As a result, census data is limited in its ability to provide accurate and current information. An absence of timely data across variables impedes education sector planning against climate change and other risks.
Comprehensive, up-to-date data on learning outcomes are similarly difficult to come by. National examinations only capture learning outcomes for particular grade groups, while data from donor-funded interventions is patchy and inconsistent (insofar as tools used and outcomes measured).
Some important indicators are rarely or not measured at all due to the lack of available contextualised and validated tools (e.g., measuring wellbeing for learners with severe special educational needs). As a result, it is difficult for stakeholders to determine critical factors, like loss of learning for all students due to school closures.
Meteorological offices generate valuable data on weather patterns which will help governments act preemptively to identify communities at risk of climate-related disasters and mitigate loss of access to schools. However meteorological data is not always easily accessible to education stakeholders. Moreover, making sense of this data and its significance to learners’ access to quality education requires knowledge and skills which may be lacking in education Ministries or organisations.
With timely access to accurate data, stakeholders will be able to devise realistic, informed plans to tackle the impact of climate and other disasters on education.
Closing thoughts
As an emerging topic, there is no shortage of questions to ask about education system resilience! It’s likely our workshop has just scratched the surface.
Nevertheless, it is clear: the need for increased coherence, collaboration and communication across education systems is not just imperative, it is dire.
Every nation needs its own dialogue to sculpt a shared vision and language around resilience: a first step towards well-coordinated, sector-wide efforts.
Governments and organisations should be transparent — and vocal — about data needed to track and respond to major threats to learning, and proactive about learning from what’s worked in other nations. The urgency of education resilience means we cannot afford to reinvent the wheel and should instead be asking: What has worked in similar contexts and how can we test its applicability here?
Proactive, preemptive planning is the only way we can ensure laudable progress in equitable education is not lost.
