Broken Chalk Condemns Escalation in Lebanon, Urges Protection of Children. Broken Chalk, an organisation dedicated to improving access to education, is deeply concerned by the escalating violence in Lebanon and its devastating impact on children.Thousands of innocent civilians have been displaced, and children are bearing the brunt of the conflict. The recent attack has resulted in the tragic loss of young lives and left countless children traumatised.Broken Chalk emphasises the urgent need for a peaceful resolution to the crisis and calls upon all parties involved to prioritise the protection of children. The psychological well-being of children is being severely compromised, and the uncertainty surrounding school openings due to the ongoing bombing is causing further distress.Broken Chalk appeals to the international community to take immediate action to ensure the safety and well-being of Lebanese children. Humanitarian aid must be provided to support displaced families and address the urgent needs of children, including access to education, healthcare, and mental health services.
تأثرت بعض المدارس والجامعات مباشرة بالقصف بالأسلحة الثقيلة. في ١٨ أبريل ٢٠٢٣، قُتل ثلاثة طلاب نتيجة سقوط قذيفة بالقرب من منزلهم في منطقة شرق النيل. ومن المقرر أن يتقدم عثمان عبد المنعم، ١٧ عاما، لامتحانات الثانوية العامة في العاشر من يونيو المقبل، وفق ما أعلنته وزارة التربية والتعليم في السودان, لكنه وضع كتيباته وكتبه جانبًا وبدأ يتابع باهتمام الحرب التي اندلعت قبل عشرة أيام. بين الجيش السوداني وقوات الدعم السريع في الخرطوم.
أصيب بالقلق والخوف من صوت الأسلحة الثقيلة والرصاص الذي اخترق سقوف وجدران المنازل وأدى إلى مقتل عدد من أقرانه. يصلي عثمان إلى الله لإنهاء الحرب ويقول إن هذا الوضع لا يبشر بأن التقويم الأكاديمي سيستمر كما هو مخطط له.
لا تختلف حالة عثمان عن حالة أكثر من ٥٠٠ ألف طالب وطالبة سيجلسون لامتحانات الشهادة السودانية هذا العام. لقد تخلوا عن دفاتر ملاحظاتهم بعد أن شاهدوا على شاشات التلفزيون ووسائل الإعلام المختلفة الحرائق والجثث ملقاة على الأرض، ويخشون نفس المصير، حسبما قال المتحدث باسم لجنة المعلمين’, سامي الباقر ل «Middle East»
وأضاف، أن “السنة الدراسية ستتأثر إذا استمرت الحرب بين الجيش وقوات الدعم السريع لفترة بعد عيد الفطر.” “سيتأثر العام الدراسي لأنه الموعد المقرر لجلوس بعض الفصول للامتحانات النهائية”، مشيرًا إلى أنه من المقرر أن يكون العام الدراسي ١٨٠ يومًا, لكنها بدأت متأخرة ٥٠ يوما بعد تعليقها لمدة ٣٠ يوما بسبب إضراب المعلمين.
وأشار إلى الجهود المبذولة لتعويض ٨٠ يوما التي ضاعت بزيادة ساعات الدراسة خلال النهار وجعل السبت يوما دراسيا وليس عطلة, بالإضافة إلى تمديد العام الدراسي لمدة ١٥ يومًا إضافيًا، وقال: “إذا استمرت الحرب بين الطرفين، يصبح العلاج مستحيلًا, لذلك تصبح السنة الدراسة غير معتمدة دوليا.
وأشار إلى الجهود المبذولة لتعويض ٨٠ يوما التي ضاعت بزيادة ساعات الدراسة خلال النهار وجعل السبت يوما دراسيا وليس عطلة, بالإضافة إلى تمديد العام الدراسي لمدة ١٥ يومًا إضافيًا، وقال: “إذا استمرت الحرب بين الطرفين، يصبح العلاج مستحيلًا, لذلك تصبح السنة الدراسة غير معتمدة دوليا.
إلا أن مدير التعليم الثانوي في وزارة التربية عبد الكريم حسن, وقال الشرق الأوسط إن العام الدراسي لن يتأثر بالحرب بين طرفي النزاع لأنه تم تعديل التقويم بحيث تكون امتحانات الثانوية العامة الذي عقد في العاشر من يونيو المقبل. ومع ذلك، لم يحدد عدد الطلاب الذين سيجلسون للامتحانات لأن الوزارة لم تنته من عدها. وتابع، “في العام الماضي، جلس حوالي ٥٠٠ ألف طالب وطالبة، وعادة ما يكون عدد من يجلسون أكثر من العام السابق,” مشيرا إلى أن طلاب السنة الأولى والثانية سيجلسون للامتحانات النهائية في ١٣ مايو، مشيرا إلى صعوبة إدراج المدارس التي تأثرت.
وقال مدير الإدارة العامة للتعليم للمرحلة الأساسية بولاية الخرطوم محمد حمدون البشير، إن التقويم الأكاديمي قد انتهى، وامتحان التعليم الأساسي, والتي تشمل المرحلتين الابتدائية والمتوسطة، تبقى ومن المقرر أن تبدأ في الخامس من الشهر المقبل، وامتحانات الشهادة الابتدائية في ٢٢ من نفس الشهر. وأضاف البشير، “قبل اندلاع الحرب بين الأطراف المتصارعة, وتقوم إدارة القياس والتقويم التربوي في الوزارة بتنفيذ الإجراءات النهائية لإدخال بيانات الطلبة الذين يفحصون الشهادة الابتدائية, ولكن تم إيقافه بسبب الأحداث الجارية.”
تشير منظمة الأمم المتحدة للطفولة (اليونيسيف) إلى أن أكثر من ٧ ملايين طفل يحتاجون إلى التعليم المنتظم، بالإضافة إلى حاجة أكثر من ٨ ملايين طفل إلى المساعدة الإنسانية. وقال الخبير التربوي أحمد مصطفى لالشرق الأوسط إن الرؤية لم تتضح بعد حول مصير العام الدراسي، ولكن إذا استمرت الحرب بين الجيش وقوات الدعم السريع، فإن, وسيؤثر حتما على العام الدراسي وعلى كل الشعب السوداني، ودعا طرفي النزاع إلى الجلوس للحوار.
International humanitarian law has established important principles about dead and missing in armed conflict. These principles protecting dead persons are based on fundamental human values. The requirements that the dead be treated with respect and dignity existed long before there were any attempts to identify and codify the legislation.¹ In Homer’s Iliad, horror and concern about the dead becoming “prey to dogs and vultures” exist.² According to the Greek Heroic Age standards, when Homer wrote the Iliad, “it is recognised custom for the victor after stripping his dead enemy to throw the body to the dogs and vultures”.³ Similarly, in the Classical period, Sophocles’ Antigone discusses the treatment of Polynice’s dead body. ⁴ As the first Professor of Anthropology at the University of Oxford, Edward B. Tylor, emphasised in his book “Primitive Culture, ii”: “In classic antiquity… it was the most sacred of duties to give the body its funeral rites”.⁵
The government of Israel claims that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to the occupied Palestinian territories. However, human rights law is still applied even in an armed conflict, as a part of international humanitarian law, according to the International Court of Justice and the United Nations Human Rights Committee 19. As for Hamas, it is not a party to the international conventions, but the customary rules of international humanitarian law apply to all parties in an armed conflict. On the other hand, Israel’s actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are limited by international humanitarian law and by the customary rules of human rights law.
In a July 2020 report, the United Nations rapporteur on human rights, Michael Lynk, of withholding bodies of killed Palestinians. According to the report, “UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon observed in 2016 that the withholding of bodies amounts to collective punishment and is also inconsistent with Israel’s obligations as an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention”. It is said collective punishment is a tool of control and domination that is antithetical to the modern rule of law and prohibited by all legal systems across the globe.¹³
Featured Image “Jerusalem, located on a plateau in the Judean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, is one of the oldest cities in the world. ” by Northern Adventures on Flickr.
The endorsement of Safe Schools Declarations and Guidelines on Military Use is an international collaboration effort to protect education from attack. It consists of proposals and actions to prevent schools and universities from armed conflict. More importantly, the Declaration aims to reduce the use of schools and universities by parties of armed conflict and attempts to minimise the negative impact caused to student’s safety and access to education. According to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, every individual has the right to educationi. However, the lack of explicit standards or norms to protect educational institutions from using military effort is a challenge to the right to education. Further, it allows fighting forces to exploit the use of schools and universities to support military efforts. Examples of military use of education facilities such as fighting positions, overnight shelters, strategic positioning and operating bases should be prevented and limited if there are no other alternatives. Subsequently, it led to the destabilisation of education opportunities, emphasising the psychosocial distress and a range of health issues that could affect students, teachers and communities.
Developed between 2012 and 2014 and published in 2015 in Oslo, the Safe School Declaration has been endorsed by 118 states. It is an inter-governmental political commitment to protect students, teachers, schools and universities from attack during armed conflict. The guidelines for protecting schools include the followingii:
“… Use the Guidelines and bring them into domestic policy and operational frameworks as far as possible and appropriate;
Make every effort at a national level to collect reliable, relevant data on attacks on educational facilities, on the victims of attacks, and military use of schools and universities during armed conflict, including through existing monitoring and reporting mechanisms, to facilitate such data collection and to provide assistance to victims, in a non-discriminatory manner;
Seek to ensure the continuation of education during armed conflict, support the re-establishment of educational facilities and, where in a position to do so, provide and facilitate international cooperation and assistance to programmes working to prevent or respond to an attack on education, including for the implementation of this Declaration…”
By addressing the importance of education and the right to education, the guidelines intended to achieve a durable peace and hope to inspire responsible practices among those involved in the planning and executing military operations. On top of that, the Declaration serves as a framework for states to cooperate and meet on a regular basis to assess the implementation and application of the guidelines.
In addition to the Declaration, the military use of education facilities under extreme circumstances such as war and international or national violence should be avoided to the greatest extent following the guidelines listed belowiii:
Functioning schools and universities should not be used by fighting forces of parties to armed conflict in any way.
Schools and universities that have been abandoned should not be used by fighting forces of parties to armed conflict for any purpose in support of their military effort.
Schools and universities must never be destroyed as a measure intended to deprive the opposing parties of the armed conflict.
Prior to any attack on a school that has become a military objective, parties to armed conflict should consider all feasible alternative measures before attacking them.
The fighting forces of parties to armed conflict should not be employed to provide security for schools and universities.
All parties to armed conflict should incorporate these guidelines into their doctrine, military manuals, rules of engagement, operational order, and other means of dissemination.
The above-summarised guidelines contain the fundamental humanitarian standard for states to follow during armed conflict. It is essential to refrain from actions that interfere with children’s access to education and reinstate the role of education in durable development and promoting understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations. The impact of conflict, violence and military disruption on educational institutions not only increases the risk of students and teachers being exposed to a range of abuse but also threatens the very right to life, the right to education and the right to be in their home and communities. The Safe Schools Declaration marks the baseline for protecting education institutions to be used for military purposes. It urges states committed to the Declaration to incorporate the guidelines into their domestic policies and defend the fundamental human rights to which every individual is entitled.
On February 24, 2022, Thursday, at 3:40 am, a full-scale war broke out in Ukraine.
Undoubtedly, the hostilities in the country have a negative impact on the psychological and physical condition of the citizens, both children and adults. Entire families were forced to hide from constant shelling, leave their homes and flee to other regions or countries due the danger situation in the regions where they live.
The martial law in Ukraine has changed the lives of every citizen and affected all spheres of life.
Within weeks of the invasion, nearly 16 million Ukrainians were forced to flee their homes and seek refuge abroad and in other parts of Ukraine. Many of these were women and children, causing significant harm to Ukraine’s majority female teaching force and their students.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers around the world developed remote teaching skills. Now that the war has again divided their classrooms, Ukrainian teachers have adapted these skills to teach students across Europe and the world.
Like Ukraine itself, which has shown tremendous resistance, educators (teachers, professors, etc.) have continued their educational efforts despite enormous odds. Since the military invasion, teachers have continued to teach their students in bomb shelters during active bombardment. Gas stations and grocery stores powered by generators are turning into centers for filming virtual lessons.
Ukraine’s response and persistent challenges to Education
Ukraine’s literacy rate is 99.8%, one of the highest in the world, and education is a source of national pride. In wartime, the Ukrainian government is working to adapt the education system to new realities.
The day after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine recommended that the educational process in educational institutions of all levels be suspended and that students be sent on a two-week vacation. During this time, part of Ukraine’s territory was temporarily occupied, and a number of cities and villages (Mariupol, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, and others) became the scene of active hostilities.
On March 14, the educational process began to resume in areas where the security situation allowed it.
Children who live far from the hostilities zone and did not move to other regions of Ukraine or abroad during the war are enrolled in full-time, distance, or mixed forms of education.
However, due to prolonged air raids and power outages of several hours, the educational process in the safe areas is also interrupted. After all, when teachers and students are in a shelter during an air raid or without electricity and, accordingly, high-quality Internet, participants in the educational process cannot continue either full-time or distance learning at this time. Therefore, students spend a significant portion of their school time studying on their own. All this only exacerbates educational losses.
Students, who have been forced to change their place of residence within Ukraine, sometimes even repeatedly, experience interruptions in their education and educational losses. For internally displaced students, one of the biggest challenges is adapting to a new environment and integrating into a new educational institution and establishing communication with teachers and peers. Loss or separation from loved ones, separation from friends, change of residence, stress from the events experienced, because someone left the very “center of hell” – all this causes psychological stress for the child.
One of the most difficult is the situation with children living in the hostilities zone or on the contact line or close to the hostilities zone. There is currently no information on the number of such children who remain close to these zones.
Children in these territories are in constant danger, under fire, forced to hide in basements or other safe places as far as possible. There is often no communication, electricity, gas, water, or heat supply in these areas, some of the houses are destroyed, and children have no more or less equipped shelter or refuge. Therefore, the main thing here is to preserve the lives and health of children, and the educational process should be implemented whenever possible – and only in those forms that do not expose children to additional danger. Some children do not study at all, while others study independently where possible. Therefore, this group of children will suffer the greatest educational losses. At the same time, as we have already noted, children in difficult life circumstances also need special attention.
Each group of students has two common problems. These are educational losses, which are different for all groups of students, because it is clear that children who live far from the combat zone and have not changed their place of residence will have less educational losses than other children. Therefore, each educational institution and each community should have an individual strategy for compensating for educational losses, as well as a general state Ukrainian strategy for compensating for educational losses.
Another common problem is the need for psychological assistance to all groups of students, the level of which will also vary depending on the circumstances experienced by the child.
First, education in times of war is an important topic that requires cooperation between government agencies, aid organizations, and the international community to maximize educational opportunities and protect children in such difficult circumstances. Cooperation with local organizations, social workers, and independent experts is needed to ensure that educational opportunities for children are adapted and accessible.
Secondly, to ensure access to education during war, it is necessary to provide sufficient financial resources, appropriate infrastructure and equipment.
Thirdly, it is important to remember that education in time of war is not limited to learning with books. Children need a variety of educational opportunities, including social and emotional support, cultural activities, and access to media and technology.
Fourth, education should be adapted to the situation of war and meet the needs of children to help them adapt to life in difficult circumstances in the future.
And most importantly, one of the key aspects of education in times of war is ensuring the safety of children and teachers. During war, schools are often targeted, resulting in loss of life and destruction of equipment. Schools need to be secured to protect the lives of children and teachers and ensure the continuity of the educational process.
In addition, education in time of war should be accessible to all children, regardless of their social status or religious affiliation. War-related migration and unequal access to education can lead to discrimination and exclusion of some children. It is necessary to ensure accessible and equal educational opportunities for all children to prevent discrimination and ensure equal chances for all children in the future. This requires cooperation with local organizations, social workers, and independent experts to develop and implement strategies to ensure that education is accessible to all children during war.
Students in Ukraine engage in leisure activities. Photo by UNICEF Ukraine.
Conclusions
For sure, war has a significant negative impact on education, but with the right efforts and support, it is possible to mitigate these effects and help children in the future. Of course, many students do not have access to educational programs or the opportunity to join online learning. Those students who have traveled abroad face language problems and struggle to adapt to a different learning system.
Despite the fact that every student was in a terrible and difficult situation, the educational process resumed in spite of everything.
Some schools and universities were directly affected by the shelling with heavy weapons. On April 18, 2023, three students were killed as a result of a shell falling near their home in the East Nile region. Othman Abdel Moneim, 17, is scheduled to sit for secondary school exams on the tenth of next June, according to what the Ministry of Education in Sudan announced, but he put his pamphlets and books aside and began to follow with interest the war that broke out ten days ago. Between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum.
He was stricken with anxiety and fear from the sound of heavy weapons and bullets, which penetrated the ceilings and walls of homes and led to the deaths of a number of his peers. Othman prays to God for the war to end and says that this situation does not augur that the academic calendar will proceed as planned.
Othman’s condition is no different from that of more than 500,000 male and female students who will sit for the Sudanese certificate exams this year. They abandoned their notebooks after they saw on television and various media the fires and corpses lying on the ground, and they fear the same fate, said the spokesman for the Teachers’ Committee, Sami Al-Baqer. for «Middle East»
He added, “The academic year will be affected if the war continues between the army and the Rapid Support Forces for a period after Eid al-Fitr.” “The academic year will be affected because it is the scheduled date for some classes to sit for final exams,” noting that the academic year is scheduled to be 180 days, but it started 50 days late after it was suspended for 30 days due to the teachers’ strike.
Postponing the beginning of academic years is a challenge in Sudan. – Photo by The Independent Arabia
He pointed to efforts to compensate for the 80 days that were lost by increasing school hours during the day and making Saturday a school day and not a holiday, in addition to extending the school year for an additional 15 days, and he said: “If the war continues between the two parties, treatment becomes impossible, so the year becomes The study is not internationally accredited.
He pointed to efforts to compensate for the 80 days that were lost by increasing school hours during the day and making Saturday a school day and not a holiday, in addition to extending the school year for an additional 15 days, and he said: “If the war continues between the two parties, treatment becomes impossible, so the year becomes The study is not internationally accredited.
However, the director of secondary education at the Ministry of Education, Abd al-Karim Hassan, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the school year will not be affected by the war between the two parties to the conflict because the calendar has been amended so that secondary school exams will be held on the tenth of next June. However, he did not specify an exact number of students who will sit for the exams because the ministry has not finished counting them. He continued, “Last year, about 500,000 male and female students sat, and usually the number of those sitting is more than the year before,” noting that first- and second-year secondary students will sit for final exams on May 13, pointing to the difficulty of listing the schools that have been affected. war at this time.
The Director of the General Administration of Education for the Basic Stage in Khartoum State, Mohamed Hamdoun Al-Bashir, said that the academic calendar has ended, and the basic education exam, which includes the primary and intermediate stages, remains and is scheduled to start on the fifth of next month, and the primary certificate exams on the 22nd of the same month. Al-Bashir added, “Before the war broke out between the conflicting parties, the Department of Measurement and Educational Evaluation in the Ministry was carrying out the final procedures for entering the data of the students examining the primary certificate, but it was stopped due to the current events.”
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicates that more than 7 million children need regular education, in addition to the need of more than 8 million children for humanitarian assistance. Educational expert Ahmed Mustafa told Asharq Al-Awsat that the vision is not yet clear about the fate of the academic year, but if the war continues between the army and RSF, it will inevitably affect the academic year and all the Sudanese people, and he called on the two parties to the conflict to sit down for dialogue.
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