A.

Disaster Overview
Alarmingly High Child Casualty Rate- 81 children (37 girls, 44 boys)

School Building Damaged

 Total 898 (294 Fully +604 partially)

 Classrooms damaged- 2554
 School toilet damaged – 418
 Impacted learning od School aged children – 134000 (49% girls)
 Immediate education assistance required-65867 children
 Need – 13000 set textbooks.

B. Education Cluster in Nepal

After the Koshi floods in September 2008, the cluster concept was formalised by nepal's Inter
Agency Standing Committee (IASC). In 2009, the Government of Nepal formally issued the
Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan Guidelines regarding cluster mechanisms. The cluster
is led by the concerned departments/agencies under the Government of Nepal and co-led
humanitarian agencies and is supported by the member bodies working in the respective fields.
Since its inception in 2008, the Education Cluster in Nepal has been led by the Ministry of
Education, Science and Technology and co-led by UNICEF and Save the Children. To
collectively address the needs of the education sector collectively in a coordinated manner for the
continuation of children's education during an emergency humanitarian crisis by coordinating
with the government, the United Nations, I/NGO, and other groups of stakeholders related to the
education sector (SMC, CNT etc.).
There is a provincial level education cluster led by the Ministry of Social Development (MOSD)/
Directorate of Education Development (LEAD), and co-led by UNICEF, Save the Children and
group members.
At the local level, it is under the education/social committee.
Education groups at all three levels will be responsible for ensuring a consistent and effective
education response to emergency/humanitarian crises to stakeholders related to
education.Education groups have also been formed in provinces and municipalities – 7
provinces, 146 municipalities, 35 districts.
Education is a fundamental human right for all people. Education is especially critical for
children and youth affected by conflict and disasters, and yet it is often significantly disrupted in
emergency situations, denying learners the transformative effects of quality education. Hence
during emergencies, The goal, objectives and priority actions of Education cluster in Nepal are as
follows:

Goal
Strengthen system-wide and coordinated response and preparedness plan for effective education
response during humanitarian emergencies including the early recovery phase, and for ensuring
greater predictability and more effective inter-agency responses in education in the areas of
standards and policy setting, building response capacity, and operational support.
Objectives
• Restore normalcy in the lives of children and teachers especially in the initial first two weeks
period aftermath the disaster.
• Ensure all girls and boys, especially children with disabilities and children from disadvantaged
families; have continued access to quality education opportunities in enabling empowering and
safe school environment in the disaster affected schools and communities.
• Through quality, age-appropriate learning, girls and boys acquire lifesaving and disaster
preparedness skills and psychosocial support to restore wellbeing and build the resilience of
children and their communities.
Priority Actions:
1. In the event of a disaster, Education Cluster led by CEHRD/Palika follows the Standard
Operating Procedure (SOP) to take appropriate actions to manage the emerging situation.
2. Conduct structural assessment of schools to a) determine damage and b) designate them safe
or unsafe.
3. Establish temporary classrooms (TCs) for the most affected children to ensure they are in a
safe place, can access inclusive, gender-sensitive WASH facilities and protection services and
are provided with structure, stability and hope.
4. Distribute essential emergency education supplies to support teaching and learning activities
and recreational opportunities including Early Childhood Development(ECD) Centres so as to
ensure children continue their education and recover from the stress and disruption caused by the
earthquakes.
5. Train teachers and facilitators on psychosocial support and life-saving messages relating to
disaster preparedness, protection, sanitation and hygiene promotion, nutrition and health
6. Mobilize communities in order to restart schooling, including debris removal.
7. Conduct regular monitoring visits to affected schools or community sites to ensure the
humanitarian response action in education adhere to the minimum INEE standard.
8. Coordinate with other Clusters, especially Child Protection, WASH, Logistics, Shelter, Health
and Nutrition Clusters to address the issues of common concern while responding to
humanitarian needs of affected families through joint actions.

C. Cluster Activities

Cluster Activation-4th Nov, 2023

Within Two week

 Federal and provincial clusters activated and meeting regularly for making necessary
decisions and to ensure data collection.
 Karnali Province Educational Cluster assigned responsibilities and mobilized nine
cluster members in five affected districts to coordinate and data collection. Shared a
generic template among cluster members for preliminary damage assessment of
schools. The Federal Education Cluster is providing technical assistance to the
provincial cluster in compiling a detailed damage assessment of schools in affected
municipalities.
 Federal Education Cluster: Provided technical support for data collection and
actively engaged in coordination meetings at both the federal and provincial levels, as
well as inter-cluster coordination. This aims to formulate a clear approach and
identify fundamental activities for establishing Temporary Learning Centers (TLCs)
and organizing textbook distribution.
 The Integrated Education Management Information System (IEMIS)/ Education in
Emergencies (EiE) software module had been activated for systematic reporting of EiE data.
On 8 November, orientations were held on IEMIS/EiE software module for 12 local
education officers of Jajarkot and Rukum West districts, who will then further train schools
on the software for reporting purposes.
 The cluster lead/Center for Education and Human Development advocated with Government
authorities to mobilize resources from the President’s education reform program budget to
support school building construction.
 211 children reached with psychosocial and psychological first aid in Jajarkot and Rukum
West.
 Deployment of 18 psychosocial support counsellors and two psychologists to Bheri, Nalgad,
and Barekot municipalities of Jajarkot district, and Aathbiskot, Chaurjhari, Sanibheri, and
Rukumkot municipalities in Rukum West for the psychosocial well-being of students and
teachers.
 Collaboration had been initiated with Aathbiskot and Sanibheri Rural Municipalities of
Rukum West District to establish a local-level education cluster and conduct a
 comprehensive needs assessment based on preliminary data. Notably, an education cluster
had already been established in Aathbiskot.
 Ongoing cluster support to schools and local education officers in Jajarkot and Rukum West
districts with reporting education related disaster data through IEMIS/EiE software module.
 On 20 November, the Provincial Education Cluster will hold a school management
committee meeting to develop a school continuity plan and request the Community School
Management Committee Federation of Nepal Karnali Province and those at the local level to
identify children with learning and clothing needs for the resumption of classes
 Initial focus on setting up 211 Temporary Learning Centres (TLCs) in 102 schools to support
around 16,500 children, a process that requires essential materials like tarpaulins, P-foam and
plastic sheets.
 Strategic prepositioning of educational materials in UNICEF field office warehouses to cover
immediate educational needs.
 Distribution of 103 Early Childhood Development (ECD) kits, 117 school kits and 3,548
student kits to facilitate immediate learning by UNICEF.
 Resource mapping of cluster members to support learning continuity, psychosocial support,
damage assessment, and temporary learning center (TLC) set-up, etc.

2nd -3rd week

 School reopened after two weeks

 Establishment of 211 TLCs in 102 schools to support around 16,500 children, a process
that requires essential materials like tarpaulins, P-foam and plastic sheets. So far, 140
TLCs had been established in Aathbiskot Municipality of Rukum West District where
multi-grade, multi-level teaching has started, bringing back around 9,800 children to
school post-earthquake. 28 temporary toilets have also been set up at these TLCs in
coordination with WASH teams.
 Distribution of 50 early childhood development (ECD) kits, 59 school kits, 1,017 student
kits (junior), 352 student kits (senior) and 290 sets of self-learning materials (ECD to
grade 3) to facilitate immediate learning in Rukum West, benefiting over 2,600 children.
 Continued collaboration with the Government and partners, including extending technical
support for postearthquake learning, damage and need assessments of affected schools in
other areas as well. Collaboration is also ongoing with development partners to address
gaps in resource mobilization.
 Supporting the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST) in mobilizing
a technical team to conduct detailed damage assessments of school buildings.-UNICEF
3rd week to 6th week
 A total of 222 temporary learning centres (TLCs) have been established in 105 schools –
211 in Aathbiskot Municipality and Sanibheri Rural Municipality of Rukum West
District, and 11 in Nalgadh Municipality of Jajarkot District – where multi-grade, multi-
level teaching has started, bringing back 17,012 children to school post-earthquake.
 124 early childhood development (ECD) kits, 238 school kits, 2,108 student kits (junior),
1,285 student kits (senior) and 770 sets of self-learning materials (ECD to grade 3) have
been distributed in Rukum West and Jajarkot, benefiting over 17,012 children with
immediate learning support.
 Continuing collaboration with the Government and partners, including extending
technical support for post-earthquake learning, and damage and need assessments of
affected schools in other areas as well. Collaboration is also ongoing with development
partners to address gaps in resource mobilization. -UNICEF
 Supporting the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) in mobilizing a
technical team to conduct detailed damage assessments of school buildings, with a
detailed report currently being prepared.

6th to 8th eight week

A total of 223 TLCs have been established in 105 schools - 212 in Aathbiskot and Sani Bheri
municipalities of Rukum West District, and 11 in Nalgad Municipality of Jajarkot District –
where multi-grade, multi-level teaching has started, bringing back 17,052 children to school.

• 124 early childhood development (ECD) kits, 238 school kits, 2,108 student kits (junior), 1,285
student kits (senior) and 770 sets of self-learning materials (ECD to grade 3) have been
distributed in Rukum West and Jajarkot, benefiting over 17,052 children with immediate
learning support.

• UNICEF supported the government for education sector post-disaster needs assessment
(PDNA) in Jajarkot and Rukum West Districts, where a total of 690 schools across 13 affected
municipalities in these two districts were assessed. The assessment report aims to address the
immediate challenges and accordingly plan for recovery and reconstruction of the affected
educational infrastructure, ensuring a resilient and sustainable future for the affected
communities.

• UNICEF coordinated and participated in a joint visit with the government (i.e., national/federal
education cluster lead) to the earthquake-affected districts and advocated for the mobilization of
government resources to support Type-2 TLC, a semi-permanent learning centres 27, that
withstands the winter and windy season to facilitate learning continuity of children. Accordingly,
the Jajarkot District’s Social Development Office (SDO) is supporting 59 Type-2 TLCs and
likewise the SDO of Rukum West is to support schools to construct 10 Type-2 TLCs from the
government’s allocated emergency funds.