Education Makes News
Building Peace and Resilience in War-Affected Regions

I spent the weeks of November training teachers and educational administrators in war-affected Amhara, Afar, and Tigray areas with my colleagues, including mental health and psychosocial support in the education sector. Where millions need humanitarian support, why do we prioritize education for children to return to school, rebuild the infrastructure, and restore educators? We understand the devastating role of war and the disastrous crisis it creates in all sectors: economic, social, geopolitical, and environmental. The untold need for post-war phenomena in the social sector, especially education, is mind-boggling.
I remember working at UNESCO a decade ago and seeing the title “Education Makes News” posted in the Library. One factor that determines “News and newsworthiness” is timeliness. What constitutes routine acts of life may not be sellable news, for I have never heard in the news how many schools teach their regular activities in the morning or evening news section.
However, it is a piece of good news to see children go back to school after losing some of their friends, teachers, and school administration workers and learning in war-devastated school compounds, stolen equipment and materials, and, in some places, people buried in school compounds. Some students and teachers are also survivors of gender-based violence, and they go back to school, suffering from all the consequences of it.
While we appreciate the numerous initiatives to ensure access to education, we must acknowledge that the war brought many challenges to the education sector. Incorporating mental health and psychosocial support in war-affected areas is meant to reinvigorate the implementation of active teaching methods, manage classroom behavior with an understanding of the repercussions of conflicts, and re-establish a healthy, nurturing, and positive classroom environment. School dropouts are not limited to students. Some teachers never come back to their teaching-learning activities for many reasons.
Listening to the teachers’ and administrators’ stories about their personal experiences of the war and that of the learners is extremely painful. In some areas, conflict is still ongoing, and navigating stability and going to school provides hope for the generation to continue with life despite their dire situation. Yes, education cannot wait. It is a time-sensitive development matter for students and families.
Demotivated teachers due to their unpaid and low salaries, frustrated students who cannot see how life can get better by building resilience, and the yet-to-be-restored physical and software infrastructures all need due consideration for all Ethiopians to draw our attention and contribute to the restoration of the education system.
Sending children back to school post-war is a means of showing them hope and a future. Even those amid conflict are encouraged to go to school for the same reason: education is a country’s hope. This is not coming at no cost. The psychological impact of war on learners and educators is yet to be paid for. Those who are directly exposed may face post-traumatic stress disorder – the severe form of anxiety disorder, depression, conduct disorder, and somatic disorder. The social disruption and self-isolation also worsen mental health issues.
Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” If we think of change, we must work towards renewing hope, which is still a complex phenomenon that we must work on at multilateral levels. We cannot neglect this potent weapon that changes human thinking, relations, and actions and falsely believe we can sustainably meet our transformational goals.
Training the teachers and educational administrators on how to help their learners cope with the war and conflict as part of their teaching-learning activities was a slight way to contribute to the restoration of our humanity. Constructing peace in the human mind should be embedded in our curriculums, and we should never return to this devastating war mentality to solve human problems.
There is an Amharic saying, “የአስካለን ቁስል ያየ በእሳት አይጫወትም፡፡” The direct translation is, A person who saw Askale’s wound will not play with fire. Both passing through war and conflicts show us that the cost is incalculable. I wish we could only count how many teachers, students, and school workers died, how many schools were destroyed, and how many school materials and equipment were stolen. NO! The post-war effects that stole the hopes of survivors and left the system staggering for the upcoming years is an untold story that needs to be worked on intentionally.
It is time to do a cost-benefit analysis of what has transpired in our country. The country’s budget for education for “peacebuilding” is less than the budget allocated for war for “peacebuilding.” One way we show commitment to the hope of our country is seen by how much funding is allocated to what is called a priority and sustainable strategy that determines our future. Let us make restoring education newsworthy!
Written by: Seble Hailu (Ph.D.)
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