Post-conflict recovery and reconstruction of education in the Gedeo and West Guji zones of southern Ethiopia

Due to a combination of historical, socioeconomic, political and environmental factors, Ethiopia is unfortunately prone to internal conflicts, such as the one which re-erupted in April 2018 between the Gedeo and Guji ethnic groups in southern Ethiopia. One of the effects of this conflict was that education was severely disrupted in the Gedeo and West Guji zones. Many schools were damaged or looted, and thus no longer provided safe learning environments, while others were repurposed as temporary shelters for internally displaced people. The conflict died down again in July 2018, and the authors of this article conducted their post-conflict case study research between April and June 2019. They investigated six adversely affected schools and their surrounding communities in the Gedeo and West Guji zones. Based on their research, they explore community perceptions of post-conflict reconstruction of education, focusing on early activities such as prioritising education, restoring safety and security, and supplying resources. They examine the reconstruction of education in the study area using primary data gathered from parents, teachers, administrators and humanitarian agencies through qualitative interviews. This study is influenced by four themes derived from the basic premises of complexity theory: emergence, self-organisation, non-linearity and connectedness. Throughout the authors' analysis, they make use of the data collected by focus group discussions, interviews and field observations, complemented by secondary data. Despite numerous stakeholders' efforts to provide humanitarian aid, this study found that post-conflict reconstruction of education is poor and based on short-term normalisation rather than aiming for long-term sustainable safe learning environments for children and youth in the study areas. At the end of their sobering analysis, the authors stress the importance of providing children and youth with a long-term, sustainable and healthy learning environment using targeted strategies and policy options.