Alternative Education in Emergencies – Module 6 (Sustaining Education during Recovery and Transition to Normalcy)

The Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) recognizes several alternative programs or strategies to provide education to students for whom the traditional mode of delivery is not possible, available, or effective.

Alternative education options are implemented in response to a variety of challenges, such as overcrowding, teacher shortages, lack of instructional materials, and remoteness or inaccessibility of schools. In the aftermath of a calamity, communities may suffer from any or all the above, which points to the potential of such programs to sustain learning. Indeed, teachers are often forced to innovate the way they organize learning after a calamity, even if they are not formally trained in using a particular alternative education program.

In the time of the COVID-19 health crisis, thousands of schools around the world have physically shut down to prevent the spread of the virus. Education sectors globally have resorted to different alternative education options to ensure that education will continue amidst the pandemic.

The Alternative Education in Emergencies Resource Kit is an 11-module knowledge product that provides guidance for teachers and school administrators on how alternative and flexible learning options can help sustain quality learning after a disaster, and how they can be adapted to suit a range of contexts and evolving needs as communities gradually recover to normalcy.

The sixth main module is about sustaining education beyond the immediate response phase. Immediately after a disaster, attention and assistance pour in, but in the weeks and months that follow, this support may wane, and communities are left to figure out how to get back to normal again. This process can take a long time. This module provides tips on how to rally stakeholders to support unconventional education interventions that might be needed for the early recovery and medium-to long-term rehabilitation process as part of transitioning back to normalcy. It also provides sample tools that administrators and educators can adapt to monitor and evaluate EiE programs.