SECTION I: INTRODUCTION
Global education and school safety initiatives
Millennium
Development
Goals (MDGs)
In 2000, the United Nations adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), prioritising
universal primary education by 2015 as the second highest priority, following the eradication
of extreme poverty.
Education
for All (EFA)
Initiated through the 2000 Dakar Framework for Action and coordinated by UNESCO, EFA
was a global movement to provide quality basic education to all children, youth and adults
by 2015.
Hyogo Framework
for Action (HFA)
In 2005, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) coordinated the
first 10-year framework describing the roles of different sectors and actors in disaster risk
reduction, with the goal of substantially reducing losses by 2015. Priority Action 3 supports
the use of knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at
all levels. The framework was to be succeeded by the Sendai Framework for Action in 2015.
Disaster Risk
Reduction Begins
at School
This UNISDR-led campaign seeks to integrate disaster risk reduction into national and local
curricula and to further promote school resilience to natural hazards.
Child-Friendly
Schools
UNICEF’s 2009 Child-Friendly Schools model aims to improve education quality and
learning outcomes by addressing student needs, school environment, curriculum and
teaching processes.
Sustainable
Development
Goals (SDGs)
In 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) led to
renewed political commitments and efforts to align Sustainable Development Goals with
the United Nations development agenda. The efforts have highlighted how disasters disrupt
development, making disaster risk reduction a fundamental component in sustainable
development. These efforts have also called for a shift in focus from mere access to
education to quality education, including safe buildings that are conducive to learning.
Comprehensive
School Safety (CSS)
This framework for climate-smart disaster risk reduction in the education sector was finalised
in 2014. The framework is supported by UN agencies and development actors, and aims to
bridge humanitarian and development action. The framework is based on three pillars.
The Three Pillars of Comprehensive Schools Safety
1. Safe school buildings
2. School disaster management
3. Risk reduction and resilience education.
Learning from the
past: Global school
construction
In the push to achieve primary education for all, constructing
school buildings has been an enormous challenge for
governments, development actors and their partner
communities. School construction programs in the last two
decades have successfully expanded educational access
worldwide.
Capital investment
Today, the majority of school buildings constructed
worldwide are through national capital investment. National
capital investment is where governments ask the Ministry
of Education (MoE), Ministry of Public Works (MoPW) or
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their regional government offices to provide sufficient and
functional classrooms.
Traditionally, school construction was a centralised planning
process. The MoE assessed needs and directly built using
their own technical offices or in coordination with other
ministries, such as the MoPW. Alternatively, they sought
competitive bids from contractors to carry out the work.
National and local governments globally build huge quantities
of classrooms each year through direct construction
and contracting. Capital expenditure on education, as a
percentage of total expenditures on public institutions, is
commonly around 10 percent. However, it can range from
zero in some of the poorest countries to more than 20 percent
in countries like Malaysia, Mozambique and Pakistan.10
Even with significant portions of national budgets spent on
school construction, in countries with growing populations,
the demand for classrooms still dwarfs supply. Existing
classrooms may also be in poor condition, overcrowded or