Education in Conflict- and Crisis-Affected Countries

Focus Areas

In conflict- and crisis-affected countries, all but the most privileged children are marginalized in education. The Education Support Program focuses its efforts primarily in Liberia and Pakistan.

In Liberia, the Education Support Program assists the Ministry of Education in leading national education reform. An initial contribution of $5 million was used to establish a multi donor partnership that enabled the Government to attend to finance its post conflict recovery program.  A further $3 million in 2010-11 will provide support for skills training and technical assistance. The program’s support for civil society has led to the establishment of Critical Thinking Liberia, an organization of Liberian educators who work with teachers and teacher trainers across the country to promote active learning and critical thinking in Liberian classrooms. 

In Pakistan, the Education Support Program is beginning to see the growth of a vibrant civil society education movement. Our grantees are central to education policy discussions and advocacy efforts.  Our Critical Thinking Project is implemented by the country’s largest education NGO, the Citizens’ Foundation, which helps 90,000 poor students.

The Education Support Program is a member of two international groups that coordinate education in post-conflict and post-crisis settings: the Inter Agency Network for Education in Emergencies and the Inter Agency Standing Committee Education Cluster. These networks provide links to over 6000 member organisations globally that are working on education in conflict-affected contexts and we are actively working to link these to relevant regional and national foundations.