This week’s Field Notes challenged me to see humanitarian education as more than a service provided during emergencies. Across four INEE studies, education emerges as a source of safety, confidence, and belonging. The Global English Language Programme shows how language learning can expand refugees’ opportunities while helping them rebuild confidence after displacement. Lifesaving Learning demonstrates an even more immediate role: in communities affected by landmines, violenc

Humanitarian education understandably places displaced students at the center of its efforts. However, an INEE study published in 2026 draws attention to another group whose needs are often overlooked: the refugee educators responsible for supporting those students. Researchers studied eight primary schools in refugee villages in northern Pakistan and found severe limitations. Only three of the eight schools had access to water considered safe to drink, roughly one-third had

Can we really say a child has access to education if getting to school exposes them to violence, exploitation, or other forms of harm? INEE argues that Education in Emergencies and Child Protection should not operate as separate humanitarian systems. Their 2025 consultation gathered responses from 362 education and child-protection practitioners, with 64% working in crisis contexts. The reasoning is straightforward but important. Integrated programs can reduce protectio

Education is often valued for the opportunities it creates later in life. Yet INEE’s discussion of “lifesaving learning” draws attention to a more immediate role: in an emergency, the right knowledge can protect a child from danger. During the first three months of 2025 alone, at least 188 children in Syria were killed or injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war,an average of about two children each day. Humanitarian education can help children identify and respond

In a humanitarian crisis, language education can shape far more than a learner’s ability to communicate. An INEE analysis of the Global English Language (GEL) Programme shows how language classes can expand access to education and employment while also helping displaced learners regain confidence. By April 2026, the programme had reached more than 32,000 learners through 100 centers in over 30 countries. The evaluation was based on more than 4,000 surveys, as well as intervie