people and planet

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Somali children wash their hands before
eating lunch at Shabelle boarding school
in Mogadishu. “We learn about hygiene
at school – we learn that it is important
to wash our hands after going to the
toilet – we learn that it is important to
wash our hands before eating too. I feel
better now that I am washing my hands
– I don’t get sick as often.”.
CREDIT: Kate Holt/GEM Report
KEY MESSAGES
While the target recognizes the principles of a child-friendly school – child-centredness, democratic participation
and inclusiveness – not all these are amenable to global monitoring.
A lot of work remains to be done on improving data, but existing sources show that 3 in 10 primary schools still
lack adequate water supply, increasing to 5 in 10 in the 49 least developed countries.
Some countries inspect school structural safety closely, but not in detail. Participatory methods have been
developed to help students and the community provide information on school conditions.
Due to lack of consensus on a definition and often limited monitoring capacity, it is hard to know how many
school facilities are accessible to children with disabilities.
ICT in education is commonly considered an essential element of an effective learning environment. But in some
of the poorest countries most primary schools do not even have electricity. Even if they do, other factors may
prevent schools from being connected to the internet. And in many developing countries, there are far too many
learners per computer to make the activity beneficial.
School-related violence is a global phenomenon. About 40% of 13- to 15-year-old students in 37 countries
reported having been involved in physical fights. Overall, better coordination is needed between various
international surveys to reveal more about where and how often violence occurs.
A high number of attacks on schools, teachers and students by state security forces or non-state armed groups
are recorded every year. Military use of schools took place in 26 countries between 2005 and 2015. Between
2009 and 2012, 1,000 or more education-related attacks took place in 6 countries.
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CHAPTER 17 | TARGET 4.A – EDUCATION FACILITIES AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS