Resident Coordinator's Remarks at the Closing Session on the Virtual Caribbean Safe School Initiative Pre-Ministerial Forum

Acknowledgements:

• Honourable Curtis King Minister of Education, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Honourable Dr. Rodolphe E. Samuel Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, St. Maarten
• Other Hon Ministers of Education;
• Idelia Ferdinand, Senior Education Officer, Ministry of Education and National Reconciliation Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Moderator: Marcel Goyeneche
• Permanent Secretaries, School Safety Focal Points, Ministries of Education; CSSI partners

Good Morning.

• I am pleased to join you and to participate in today’s Closing Session of the Virtual Caribbean Safe School Initiative Pre-Ministerial Forum.
• Let me first congratulate the 18 countries and territories participating in the Caribbean Safe School Initiative  (CSSI) for your  commitment to the shared vision of school safety, evidenced by this successful (March 15 -26) pre-Ministerial Forum.
• As we are well aware, the region’s education sector is highly vulnerable to the impacts of natural hazards, and susceptible to systemic risks as evidenced during COVID-19. If not adequately mitigated, these risks can seriously jeopardize progress towards the 2030 Agenda.
• Disasters have a major impact on children, youth, and education systems, with approximately 175 million children worldwide likely to be affected by natural hazards.
•  Closer to home, the temporary closure of educational facilities in the Caribbean ,due to COVID-19, impacted nearly 12 million learners in over 29 countries.
• The impact for disadvantaged children and families has been even more severe, causing interrupted learning, compromised nutrition, potential exposure to sexual exploitation,  childcare problems and consequent economic costs to families unable to work. The transition to online learning has also exacerbated pre-existing education and inequality disparities, leading to potential increases in dropout rates.
• Hon Ministers, We wish to encourage you to consider progressive and safe reopening of schools, applying all safety protocols that have proven to be effective. Let me turn to past recent events in term of natural disasters.
• In  Dominica, the 2017 hurricane season displaced18,500 school-aged children and damaged or destroyed 57 Government primary and secondary schools. 
• More recently, in 2019, Hurricane Dorian, devastated Grand Bahama and Abaco islands in the Bahmas,  affecting  10,546 students and 796 teachers with widespread damage to educational facilities amounting to $72 million.
• In the event of such disasters, ensuring that  shelters are safe spaces for children and families, and supporting rehabilitation of schools for shelter use and to resume education, brings back a sense of normalcy for students, teachers, and families.
•  Integrating comprehensive school safety into sustainable development and DRR policies, therefore, not only improves children’s equal, inclusive, and safe access , but supports education sector resilience.
• In this regard, ensuring school safety has emerged as a key policy issue for governments you represent; it is very encouraging to that, given the nexus between education, resilience, and national development. I want on behalf of the UN system to commend you for this endevaour, as well as CDEMA.
• Be rest assured that the UN, (UNDRR; UNICEF; UNESCO) working in partnership with CDEMA, national Governments and other regional partners, remains committed to working with you to mainstreaming school safety into the region’s sustainable development agenda,
• With UNICEF support, 10,172 direct and indirect beneficiaries (including policy makers, teachers, and principals), have enhanced knowledge and skills on DRR, DRM & Resilient Education, and 32,846 students have benefitted.
• Over 400 school principals also increased their capacity to map their schools’ hazards, and establish standard operating procedures and humanitarian education sector responses.
• Support was also provided to enhance coordination with programme countries, and for creation of Design Guidelines for Disaster Resilient schools (2019) and training of Safe School Focal Points (2020).
• To ensure resilient education within a more holistic framework, discussions are currently underway with the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) to mainstream the Safe School Programme. Consideration is also being given to the inclusion of pandemics in the initiative, subsequent to its response to COVID impact.
• To be clear, resilient education is increasingly being understood as a holistic framework that includes any external shock, beyond disaster risk reduction and climate change, but also physical and mental health education.  
• While progress has been made, there is still more to be done.  The biennial Caribbean Safe School Ministerial Forum, supported by the pre-Ministerial Forum that ends today, are very positive steps. You must be commended for that.
•  I also give assurance of the UN’s continued support  for the  work of the CSSI and the safe school working group. This includes support for the Antigua and Barbuda declaration on School Safety and for the agreed roadmap for its implementation.
•  By adopting a new approach to risk reduction efforts, we encourage you to take steps to plan thoroughly for school re-openings; build resilient education systems for equitable and sustainable development; and accelerate change in teaching and learning.
• Back to normal is not good enough; we must recover better, the education sector can lead with the necessary innovation.
• In closing I wish to congratulate the Government of Sint Marten for hosting the III Ministerial forum in 2021 and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for holding the current chair of CSSI.