Emergency education refers to education for populations affected by emergency situations (Sinclair, 2001; UNESCO, 2017). These situations could be man-made or natural disasters that disrupt radically the usual conditions of life, care, and education facilities for children, causing an inability to attain the right to education (Rights of The Child to Education in Emergencies, 2008). Education in emergencies started around the 1990s as one of the elements of humanitarian responses to emergencies (Burde et al., 2017), but it was not till the 2000s that education was separated from developmental activities in humanitarian responses to emergencies due to the efforts of a group of educators (Burde et al., 2011). and now it is regarded as one of the pillars of humanitarian actions in emergencies. This is due to the fact that it is reported that education is usually neglected during the early response to emergencies (Muñoz, 2010), and during which many rights to education violations occur (Nicolai et al., 2015). The special case of education in times of emergencies arises from the challenges that face the learning process in these situations. Being in the center of a conflict zone or facing a devastating natural disaster could lead to an impairment of students’ learning abilities (Tauson, & Stannard, 2018). It has been reported that trauma impacts the cognitive and executive functions of the brain which in its turn hinders learning abilities (Tauson, 2016; Mougrabi-Large, & Zhou , 2020). In the case of national health emergencies, trauma could cause anxiety and stress for children and adults (NCTSN, n.d). Hence, special care needs to be given to education in times of emergencies. Education could provide a safe space for students during a crisis (Nicolai, 2015), giving the much needed psychosocial support for development, as well as, hope, stability, and a sense of security (UNSECO, 2017). But more importantly, especially during Covid-19 penadamic, is that maintaining a good level of quality education during crisis will act as the backbone for the reconstruction and restoration phase after the crisis is over UNSECO, 2017).

2. Sustainable Development Goals
SDG #4
Ensure inclusive and equitable
quality education and promote
lifelong learning opportunities
for all.
2 (SDG4, 2020)

3. However,
• More than half of the world’s children fall short on
meeting the standards put in reading and mathematics.
• Under normal circumstances
3

4. Covid-19
Over 72% of the world’s
students population is being
affected by nationwide
school closures
4 (UNESCO, 2020c)

5. Why Emergency Education
Education is usually neglected during the early
response to emergencies
Trauma impacts the cognitive and executive
functions of the brain
Impairment of students’ learning abilities
5 (Nicolai et al., 2015)

6. How Can Education Help?
Education could provide a safe space for students during a crisis
Give the much needed psychosocial support for development, as
well as, hope, stability, and a sense of security
Maintaining a good level of quality education during crisis will
act as the backbone for the reconstruction and restoration phase
after the crisis is over
6 (Nicolai et al., 2015)

7. Context – Covid-19
7

8. A Health Pandemic
• Over 4M affected world wide.
• Death toll of 284,661.
• 1,268,164,088 learners are out of school due.
• School closures.
• Mental Health and psychological problems.
8 (UNESCO, 2020b)

9. Finnish Education System
1.29 million students
“Education is one of the cornerstones of the Finnish welfare society. We pride
ourselves on an educational system that offers equal opportunities for
education for all. Education from pre-primary to higher education is free of
charge in Finland. The new core curricula for pre-primary and basic education
adopted in 2016 focus on learning, not steering. Finnish teachers are highly
educated and strongly committed to their work”
(Ministry of Education and Culture, n.d.)9

10. Contingency Plan
• On Monday 16th of march, 2020 Finland declared a
state of emergency over the Covid-19 outbreak including
a full closure of all schools and educational institutions
• A total of 1,409,324 students out of school
10 (UNESCO, 2020b)

11. Contingency Plan
Full closure of premises and
suspension of contact teaching
starting from lower secondary
education (grade 4) comprising
around 543,436 learners up until
universities and universities of
applied sciences.
11 (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2020b)

12. Contingency Plan
For early childhood education and
care, pre-primary education
(206,370 affected learners), and
primary education (292,198 affected
learners), school premises will remain
open, and contact teaching will persist.
12 (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2020b)

13. Matriculation Examination
A decision was made to condense
the schedule of these exams, and
recommendations were given, to
ensure a safe environment for both
students and supervisors when
undertaking the exams.
13 (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2020a)

14. School Meals and Students’ Welfare
14

15. Support and Resources During the Crisis
Support materials and instructions to schools on how to
operate during this crisis
Information service, where any enquiries that education
providers and schools have, can be answered through.
Open educational resources available to teachers.
15 (FNAE, 2020)

16. Support and Resources During
the Crisis – Higher Education
16
https://teaching.helsinki.fi/en/article/effect-coronavirus-teaching

17. Readiness for distance learning
• 96% of 15-year old students have a quiet place to study
available outside of school premises. Above the OECD average
of 94%.
• Less than 6% of 15 year old students do not have access to
the internet. There is not a big gap between advantaged and
disadvantaged schools as that number rises to 7% in
disadvantaged schools.
17 (Reimers & Schleicher, 2020)

18. Readiness for distance learning
• Around 50% of students are enrolled in schools that have
teacher who have high capacity and preparedness to use
technology for teaching. This percentage rises up to 60% in
more advantaged schools.
• %45 of 15-year students are enrolled in schools where
professional resources for teachers on how to integrate using
digital devices into the teaching and learning process are
available.
18 (Reimers & Schleicher, 2020)

19. Readiness for distance learning
• 45% the students enrolled in schools that offer incentives for
using technology in education.
• 43% of students are enrolled in schools that have sufficient
qualified technical assistant staff which is less than an OECD
average of 61%.
• (44%) of students are enrolled in schools where an effective
online learning support platform is available, which is also less than
an OECD average 60%.
19 (Reimers & Schleicher, 2020)

20. Most Challenging Issues During the Crisis
• 62.7% for ensuring the continuity of academic learning for
students.
• 61.2% for supporting the students who lack skills for
independent study.
• 29.6% for ensuring the distribution of food to students
ranked low with 29.6%.
20 (Reimers & Schleicher, 2020)

21. A Proposed Contingency Plan
1. Forming an education emergency
committee.
2. Carrying out an assessment of the
skills and knowledge that have been
covered.
3. Having a unified set of goals.
4. Setting up a technical support
system.
5. Providing guidelines, instructions,
and a set of resources.
6. Establishing a learning assessment
criteria and best practices.
7. Setting up a system of continuous
evaluation and ongoing needs-
based changes.
8. Holding training workshops and
professional development seminars.
9. Equipping educational specialists
on how to deal with students'
emotional needs.
21

22. Recommendations
22

23. References
• FNAE. (2020). School premises in Finland closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus | Finnish National Agency for.
https://www.oph.fi/en/news/2020/school-premises-finland-closed-prevent-spread-coronavirus
• Ministry of Education and Culture. (2020a). Government policy recommendations for providers of early childhood education and care,
pre-primary education, primary and lower secondary education, general upper secondary education, vocational education, higher
education, liberal education and basic art. https://minedu.fi/artikkeli/-/asset_publisher/valtioneuvoston-linjaus-suosituksista-
varhaiskasvatuksen-esiopetuksen-perusopetuksen-lukio-ja-ammatillisen-koulutuksen-korkeakoulutuksen-vapaan-
sivist?_101_INSTANCE_vnXMrwrx9pG9_languageId=en_US
• Ministry of Education and Culture. (2020b). Restrictions on early childhood education and care, primary and secondary education and
vocational education and training extended until 13 May. https://minedu.fi/en/article/-/asset_publisher/varhaiskasvatuksen-opetuksen-ja-
koulutuksen-rajoituksia-jatketaan-13-toukokuuta-asti
• Ministry of Education and Culture. (n.d.). The Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland - OKM - Ministry of Education and Culture,
Finland. https://minedu.fi/en/frontpage
• Nicolai, S., Hine, S., & Wales, J. (2015). Education in emergencies and protracted crises: Toward a strengthened response. London, ODI,
July, 1–27.
• Reimers, F. M., & Schleicher, A. (2020). A framework to guide an education response to the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020.
• SDG4. (2020). Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4). https://sdg4education2030.org/the-goal
• UNESCO. (2020b). COVID-19 Educational Disruption and Response. https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse
• UNESCO. (2020c). Covid-19 school closures around the world will hit girls hardest. https://en.unesco.org/news/covid-19-school-
closures-around-world-will-hit-girls-hardest
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