School focused educational interventions are limited in addressing structural inequality in conflict affected contexts

In this blog post we assess some limitations and opportunities of interventions that conceive schools as the main driver of change in conflict affected contexts. Education interventions in settings of forced displacement and conflict typically target a limited number of schools. This allows them to provide tangible and measurable results within the constraints of a fixed budget. Such interventions often combine literacy and numeracy training with socio-emotional learning, mental health, and protection measures. The ‘safe school’ approach is a prominent example, which conceives the school and its environment as the central unit that protects children from violence in and around schools. However, such approaches have little leverage in addressing structural marginalization. Our recent research in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) assesses how violent conflicts interact with ethnic marginalization in the education sector.

The politics of ethnicity in the DRC

The politicization of ethnic identities is a fundamental characteristic of contemporary DRC. It finds its origins in the ethno-territorial organization of the colonial state and has largely been maintained in the post-colonial era. These historical inequalities have fed grievances and political conflicts between and among ethnic groups, some of which have become violent during various Congolese wars. While violent conflicts have multiple causes and cannot be reduced solely to an ethnic dimension, a focus on ethnicity, as outlined here, can help to explain persisting inequalities in the education sector.