52943 EAP DRM KnowledgeNotes Working Paper Series No. 7 disaster risk Management in East asia and the pacific Education By Kin Bing Wu introduction In the aftermath of the Wenchuan Earthquake, mea- sures to restore education will be a critical part of the recovery efforts in Sichuan Province. The education © The World Bank/Wu Zhiyi system can play an important role in both (i) minimiz- ing the impact of the disaster on children, and (ii) im- proving disaster preparedness. To help restore normalcy for children and provide them with physical and psy- chological assistance after such a traumatic experience, restarting schools as quickly as possible is an immediate priority. To help strengthen disaster preparedness and man- agement, a number of measures can be undertaken, such as rebuilding better school infrastructure and integrating school safety programs into the education curriculum. This note will review international experience in using the education sector to pursue the dual objectives of promot- ing short-term recovery and ensuring better disaster preparedness over the medium term. In particular, the note draws upon examples from the countries of India, Iran, and Japan, which have all experienced devastating earthquakes in recent years that have resulted in loss of life and extensive damage to school infrastructure in the affected areas.1 In all three countries, swift actions were taken in the education sector to assist students and rebuild schools, offering useful examples that China may wish to consider in shaping its own earthquake recovery efforts going forward. rEstarting schools to hElp copE with disastEr For children who have experienced the trauma of a natural disaster and who may have lost their homes or loved ones, restoring normalcy can help facilitate and speed the psychological recovery process. Since schooling comprises such a significant part of a child's daily life, resuming the daily routine of going to school is a key element for restor- ing a sense of normalcy. At the same time, children can benefit greatly from reconnecting with teachers and fellow This working paper series is produced by the East Asia and Pacific Disaster Risk Management Team of the World Bank, with support from the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). This note was prepared for the Government of China as part of a series of good practice notes on post-disaster recovery following the Wenchuan Earthquake that struck on May 12, 2008. Content was coordinated by the China and Mongolia Sustainable Development and Country Management Units of the World Bank. The focus is on sector-specific lessons from past post- earthquake recovery programs in different countries around the world. 2 disaster risk Management in East asia and the pacific students who can offer support and a sense of commu- education sector can play an important role in improv- nity. Therefore, restarting schools should be regarded as ing disaster preparedness and management capacity. a pressing priority for disaster recovery. This section describes some of the measures that can be undertaken over the medium term to help ensure that India's response to the Gujarat Earthquake in 2001 offers the effects of any future natural disasters on schools, a striking example of how a government can quickly mo- students, and teachers will be mitigated. bilize its resources to reopen schools and provide support to students. Immediately following the earthquake, which School safety programs: School safety programs and partially destroyed 10,000 schools and completely de- other awareness-raising initiatives are important for stroyed over 2,000 schools, the Department of Education equipping students and teachers with the knowledge of initiated rapid damage assessment surveys and detailed how to handle a disaster. The 2003 Bam Earthquake in technical surveys of affected schools to assess the damage. Iran, which resulted in the deaths of one-third of all stu- One survey found that the affected communities wanted dents as well as one-third of all teachers in the affected their children to return back to school without much delay. areas, prompted the launching of the School Earthquake Since teachers in these districts were initially reluctant or Safety Initiative. The initiative integrates earthquake unable to attend school, officers from nonaffected districts education and preparedness into the school education were deployed to resume instruction in primary school program from kindergarten to the university level and centers. Within 90 days, over 2,000 temporary shelters for aims to increase awareness among not only teachers and school children were constructed. Classes were held under students but also the general public. New materials have trees, in tents, and in repaired classrooms, and in less than been incorporated into the school curriculum across a va- five months after the earthquake, about 10,000 of the af- riety of subjects such as science, geography, social studies, fected schools had begun classes. The Department of Ed- and technology. Schools are asked to form safety coun- ucation also established more than 300 trauma treatment cils, which are operational teams that specialize in sup- centers, which treated about 50,000 students. port, information, search and rescue, first aid and relief, fire extinguishing, and recovery. It should be noted that using existing channels to deliver support can help speed school reconstruction efforts sig- Periodic drills should also be adopted as part of school nificantly. In India, the work of repairing and retrofitting safety programs. Practicing what to do and where to go schools commenced quickly: Within 45 days, Village can help ensure that children and teachers will know Civil Works Committees (community-based organiza- how to react and protect themselves when a disaster tions) were given funds to repair and retrofit nearly 9,200 strikes. In Iran, national safety drills in schools are con- schools. The funds for these activities were transferred ducted annually and have grown from only 5 schools in directly from the state to the Village Civil Works Com- the first pilot drill in 1996 to 140,815 schools in 2005. mittee. This task, which normally would have taken years, Other actors beyond the education authorities can help was accomplished within six months and helped facilitate promote safety issues among children and the wider a quicker return to school for children. community. Japan's approach to disaster management provides a useful example in this regard. Following the iMproving disastEr prEparEdnEss Kobe Earthquake in 1995, Japan adopted a multifac- and ManagEMEnt eted approach that involved not only education authori- Beyond helping students return to school quickly, the ties, but also the private sector and other actors. For ex- Education 3 ample, the Japan Society of Civil Engineers published conclusions a handbook for disaster prevention for kindergartens The above discussion points to some short- and me- and nursery schools. Insurance companies developed dium-term actions that China can take in the educa- materials that use cartoons to provide information on tion sector to facilitate recovery and improve disaster how individuals should respond to natural disasters in management. Some already have been undertaken by different situations--in the subway, theatre, bathroom, the Chinese authorities. Below is a summary of the key kitchen, bedroom, classroom, car, and streets. points raised: Strengthening of school infrastructure: A critical mea- n Restart schools as soon as possible to restore nor- sure to help minimize death and destruction in the event malcy and provide physical and psychological help to of future natural disasters is to ensure that the physical children. infrastructure of schools is sound. Efforts must be made n Develop and implement school safety programs that to develop high standards and codes for school design integrate earthquake knowledge, awareness, and pre- and construction, ensure quality construction according paredness into the school curriculum and include pe- to those standards, and perform regular maintenance. riodic drills to improve preparedness. In Iran, the government not only required that new n Ensure the soundness of physical school infrastruc- schools be built to high standards, but it also issued ture by developing proper building codes and enforc- guidelines for retrofitting of existing schools. In 2006 ing high-quality professional standards in planning, the parliament passed the School Safety Act, which design, construction, and maintenance, as well as ret- provides USD 4 billion for the reconstruction and rofitting older buildings as needed. strengthening of nearly 258,000 "vulnerable" classrooms nationwide within four years. It aims to apply scientific n For future construction of schools and other buildings, and technical knowledge to reduce risks in all types of technical knowledge could be improved through the built structures and to ensure that future constructions curriculum in construction for vocational and techni- are seismically safe. cal education and in engineering and architecture at the tertiary level. n Providing the necessary technical knowledge to the future engineers and architects who will be designing and build- End note ing schools is another action that should be taken to help 1 The Indian example uses information from a case strengthen the infrastructure of schools and other build- study prepared by Deepa Sankar of the World Bank, ings. Vocational and technical schools and engineering who has been involved in the supervision of the Gu- studies at the tertiary level provide natural channels for jarat Emergency Earthquake Reconstruction Project. such education. As part of India's School Safety Initiative, The Iran School Safety Initiative example draws from all engineering colleges must include seismic engineering materials by the International Institute of Earthquake and architectural courses. In Japan, technical high schools Engineering and Seismology in Tehran. The discus- provide more in-depth studies on earthquakes and seis- sion of the response to the earthquake in Kobe, Japan mic reinforcement, and university programs include ur- draws from Disaster Education produced by the Na- ban disaster risk management courses(i.e., fundamental tional Graduate Institute of Policy Studies in Tokyo. mechanisms of combustion and fires, methods of precise forecasting, prevention, and control). East asia and the pacific region The World Bank 1818 H St. NW, Washington, D.C., 20433 http://www.worldbank.org/eap Special thanks to the partners who support GFDRR's work to protect livelihoods and improve lives: Australia, Canada, Denmark, European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, and the World Bank.