INTRODUCTION
Governments have a responsibility to protect schools and ensure that they are safe for students and teachers, including in times of heightened insecurity and armed conflict. Subnational and local government authorities, communities, parents, school administrators, teachers, and students also play an important role in making schools safe. To date, 116 states have endorsed the Safe School Declaration (SSD). These states have committed to strengthening the protection of education from attack and ensuring the continuation of education during armed conflict.
Yet in conflict settings, governments may be confronted with difficult decisions regarding how best to ensure the safety of students, teachers, and school infrastructure. For example, governments may have to decide whether it is safe for schools in a specific area to remain open or whether students should be relocated to alternative locations or educated through alternative delivery methods such as distance learning until it is safe to return to their schools. Similarly, given limited resources, governments may have to decide which schools should be prioritized to receive rehabilitation or upgrading of school facilities and protective security systems. This paper discusses the importance of school risk assessments as one concrete tool to help make such decisions and facilitate the implementation of SSD commitments.
