RIGHT TO QUALITY EDUCATION

RIGHT TO QUALITY EDUCATION 1

FINN CHURCH AID (FCA) Finn Church Aid (FCA) is a well-known, reliable and trusted Finnish education actor, especially in the most fragile contexts. FCA demonstrates this role by working together with local governments and other partners to develop and implement innovative solutions for: Education in Emergencies. Linking Learning to Earning for youth. Education sector development. FCA actively designs models on how non-profit and for-profit partnerships can result in better impact. We also strongly advocate for indivisible and enabling educational rights at local, national and global levels. Refugee children drawing a story guided by Finnish Teachers without Borders volunteers at the Rwamwanja refugee settlement in Uganda. FCA Education Strategy Focus on the most fragile contexts Innovative solutions for quality Strategic Partnerships Education in Emergencies Linking Learning to Earning Sector Development Enabled with Teachers without Borders Finland Targeting Youth Young adults Out-of-school adolescent and youth Crisis affected children ICT4DE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO SUPPORT RIGHT TO QUALITY EDUCATION FCA strives to find innovative solutions for Quality Education. Education Actors around the world agree that the global learning crises will not be solved without new creative and innovative solutions for access and quality of education. We are seeking new approaches to teaching and learning, learning space construction, developing vocational education, teacher education and inspiring easily accessible learning materials. FCA draws from the Finnish experience of investing in teachers and teacher education, as teachers are at the heart of quality education. 2 3 Photo: Ville Asikainen.

Photo: Taina Värri At the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, FCA supports the wellbeing of adolescents and youth by providing recreational activities, e.g. football. LINKING LEARNING TO EARNING FCA aims to find practical links between skills, vocational training and employment in different contexts by: Supporting improvement of didactic methods (learner-centred teaching methods, practical studies, collaborating with employers and private sector actors throughout the training, developing and improving vocational teacher training and teachers professional development). Developing Business, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) curriculum (training modules, competence-based curriculums, qualification systems, apprenticeship, integration of career guidance/counselling into BTVET, entrepreneurship education, education for job-seekers and support to curriculum reform). Integrating follow-up, support and career counselling for graduates. Creating employment and business opportunities for graduates. FCA utilises market analyses to ensure that the skills developed have a solid market demand, develops follow-up and support systems for business incubation and acceleration, and builds linkages for the graduates with the working life and providers of financial and other relevant business related services. Photo: Terhi Kinnunen FCA offers skills training for Syrian youth in Jordan. Basel Noserat learns how to repair mobile phones in the Zaatari refugee camp. PROVIDING EDUCATION IN EMERGENCIES An estimated 65 million children aged 3 15 are most directly affected by emergencies and protracted crises around the world. While a number are outof- school, for those in school, many are at risk of education disruption, drop out, and poor quality, alongside psychosocial and protection concerns. Photo: Ville Palonen Miatta K. Xarkpahwowl, 27, is studying to be a car mechanic at a LOIC (Liberian Opportunities Industrialization Centres) vocational training centre in Gbarnga, Liberia. FCA supports the vocational training and employment of vulnerable young women. In emergencies, conflicts and natural disasters FCA targets both school-going and out-of-school children, adolescent and youth. We provide safe and learner-friendly learning environments and quality education in formal and non-formal settings. We aim to ensure that the provided education is accredited to enable further studies and life-long learning. 4 5

6 At the Zaatari refugee camp, FCA supports a circus school for both young men and women.the aim is to improve the wellbeing of distressed young people. EDUCATION SECTOR DEVELOPMENT The gap between real life and school education has widened due to the world changing more rapidly than the education system. With our partners we can accommodate the leap to the future of learning. Schools can act as drivers of change. Increasingly, FCA supports education sector development in fragile situations. Collaboration with National Ministries of Education and education authorities can take different forms, ranging from capacity development of educational leadership to curricula development, school management and good governance. Schools globally need to act as drivers of change. In several countries there are clear programmatic entry points for FCA to the sector development through earlier collaboration or existing projects, in particular through vocational training. The role of education needs to be consciously studied in nation building in fragile contexts. Christine Joe, 22, attends a tailoring class in Buchanan, Liberia. She is a part of a mothers club, that organises skills training for women with support from FCA. She has learned to sew shirts and trousers, and gets a small income by selling the clothes in her community. Photo: Ville Palonen Photo: Meeri Koutaniemi Photo: Ville Asikainen ENABLED WITH Strategic Partnerships FCA will actively seek partners from different sectors, who can complement our knowledge and experience in education. We aim to build long term strategic partnerships which help us to innovate new solutions for quality education. Finnish Education Expertise We facilitate education sector reform and development through Finnish Education Expertise. Finland is considered to have one of the leading education systems and is globally renowned for its high-quality teacher training. Among young Finns, teaching is consistently one of the most admired professions. All teachers in Finnish primary, middle, and high schools hold a master s degree; preschool and kindergarten teachers hold a bachelor s degree. Finnish students consistently score highly in numerous international rankings, e.g. OECD s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) for reading, mathematics and science. In Rakhine state, Myanmar, FCA has provided literacy and numeracy training, sports, and cultural expression in temporary, child friendly learning spaces answering the acute needs of 7,320 children in Muslim and Buddhist IDP camps. Many of the children attended school for the first time in their lives in the project funded by ECHO. Teachers Without Borders Finland Teachers without Borders Finland is a network for teachers and educational professionals to share their skills on a global platform. The aim of the network is to: Improve the quality of education in the most fragile states by supporting pedagogical competencies of local teachers. Offer opportunities for educational professionals to expand their expertise by volunteering in developing countries for periods of 3 12 months. Support citizenship education in Finnish schools by developing tools, models, methods and new materials suitable for everyday learning about the world we live in. ICT for Development and Education FCA aims to maximize the power of innovation and technology through greater public-private partnerships. Educating children and youth plays a key role in nation-building and creating stability in fragile areas. Leveraging the full spectrum of technology from traditional to mobile and emerging technologies and applying it in a way that is contextually appropriate will be important in achieving effective development outcomes: Increase access to quality resources (teachers, materials, learning programmes). Lower the unit costs for education. Provide new avenues for learning in order to help refugees continue their education. 7

FINN CHURCH AID (FCA) is the largest Finnish NGO in development cooperation and the second largest provider of humanitarian assistance. FCA specialises in supporting local communities in three priority areas: Right to Quality Education, Right to Peace, and Right to Livelihood. FCA is a member of the Global Education Cluster Working Group, working in close partnership with several UN agencies. FCA also works actively with the Inter-Agency Network of Education in Emergencies (INEE) and is a member of the Working Group on the Minimum Standards. FCA is a member of the CHS Alliance and is working towards application of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS). We are a founding member of ACT Alliance, and a long-time partner of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. We have a framework partnership agreement with the European Commission Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection ECHO. We also have a growing number of local partners. FCA is a rights-based actor. Our action is guided by the standards and principles of international human rights. Equality, non-discrimination and accountability are at the core of our work. In 2015, FCA will provide assistance in excess of 35 million. Finn Church Aid P.O. Box 210 (Eteläranta 8) FI-00131 Helsinki Finland finnchurchaid.fi Teachers without Borders opettajatilmanrajoja.fi Cover: Friends Anusha Chamlagain, 7, and Rachana Dahal, 9, study together at Navodaya Primary School in Kaleshwor village, Nepal. After the earthquake in April 2015, FCA built 170 temporary learning spaces, distributed learning materials and supported teachers to enable a quick return to school for children in Nepal. Photo: Antti Helin 8