Disaster Risk Reduction in School Curricula: Case Studies ... - Unicef

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Section 10.
Case 13:
The Case Studies
Lesotho
Against this background, the National Curriculum Development
Centre began efforts to integrate DRR in national school curricula
in grades 1 to 10 with the development of the roadmap
emerging from the October 2009 conference (described in the
introduction to this case study). The DRR strands in the new
national curriculum have been the fruits of the curriculum
planning and development process since then. The new
syllabus at grade levels 1 to 3 (with DRR integrated) will be
pilot tested from January 2012. Planning and development
of grade 4-10 curricula is ongoing; the schedule for piloting
has not yet been determined (UNICEF, 2011, 3).
heads of universities and other tertiary institutions at which
a roadmap for the integration of DRR in these institutions
of learning was developed (Ibid).
In July 2011 the NDMA promulgated a National Disaster Risk
Reduction Policy. One policy commitment would be to ‘promote
the integration of disaster risk reduction into school curricula
at primary, secondary and tertiary levels’ in meeting the goal of
building ‘a culture of safety among communities and a disaster
resilient society through education’ (NDMA, 2011, 15).
In preparation for the launch of the new grade 1, 2 and 3
curriculum, a five-day Knowledge Facilitation Workshop, Disaster
Risk Reduction: Integrating into School Curriculum in Lesotho,
was held for curriculum developers in Maseru, Lesotho, from 5
to 9 September 2011 55 . The workshop ‘aimed to provide
conceptual clarity on DRR and child-centred learning methodologies
in [the] mainstreaming process of [the] education sector
as well as identify key DRR topics, learning outcomes, skills and
abilities’ (UNICEF et al, 2011, 4). Speaking at the workshop,
the Acting Executive of the National Disaster Management
Authority referred to DRR in the curriculum as a ‘national priority’
while the Chief Education Officer called Curriculum Development
a ‘bold step towards (a) culture of safety’ (Ibid. 47-8).
To sustain the momentum of the process, there is a ‘felt need
among the stakeholders to integrate DRR into secondary and
tertiary institutions of learning in Lesotho’. To this end, two
conferences were held in October and November 2010 for
55
With support from the UNICEF Education in Emergencies and Post-Crisis
Transition (EEPCT) Programme funded by the Government of the Netherlands
and the European Commission.
Disaster Risk Reduction in School Curricula: Case Studies from Thirty Countries