Schools must prepare for climate change

The unfolding climate crisis could be the leading cause of displacement in the coming years and this could place education systems at risk, predicts the Global Education Monitoring report, published by Unesco.

This is in terms not only of loss of life but also through infrastructure damage.

The report, Migration, Displacement and Education: Building Bridges, Not Walls, has suggested that governments, if they have not already started, should make the necessary plans to minimise the risk.

“Within a few decades, climate could be a main reason for displacement. ‘Environmental refugee’ or ‘climate refugee’ defines any individuals leaving their homes because of climate change effects, such as sea level rise, drought or desertification, although the terms do not yet carry legal implications,” it states.

The report adds that governments’ capacity should be strengthened so that education services are disrupted as little as possible during natural disasters.

The report looks at nation states in the Pacific Ocean, which are increasingly planning their education around the reality of natural disasters. In the Solomon Islands, the government has plans that enable people to continue studying before, during and after a disaster.

The Solomon Island recommend that “all teachers in affected areas should be trained in psychosocial strategies within two months of the disaster, and psychosocial activities should be introduced in all temporary learning spaces and schools within six weeks”.

In the Kiribati island country

(it has 33 islands, 20 of which are inhabited), the government has a relocation strategy for anyone who wants to leave the state. This includes raising people’s qualifications so that they can get decent work abroad in countries with ageing populations, such as Australia, Japan and New Zealand, where there will be a shortage of skilled workers.

Closer to home, long-term climate scenarios have shown that droughts and crop failures will probably result in more migration in Southern Africa. This will force countries to take people in, and they will then need to have systems in place to ensure children get an education — Bongekile Macupe