Challenges and Benefits of Community-based Safer School Construction

Over the last two decades, millions of classrooms have been built through such efforts as the global Education for

All campaign and the Millennium Development Goals. Community-based school construction is prevalent in

areas where the onus of education has traditionally been on the community or where governments has devolved

decision-making to subnational or local bodies. Interviews with 58 practitioners with expertise in communitybased

construction in Africa, Latin America, and Asia illuminate both the challenges and benefits of

community-based approaches. These practitioners sought to achieve the twin goal of ensuring children have

access to educational facilities and ensuring such facilities are able to withstand natural hazards without costly

damage that can kill, injure children and school personnel, or disrupt education. Practitioners found that

community-based approaches to safer school construction can support local livelihoods and build capacity; the

approach can also increase the skills of local stakeholders for maintaining the school after project completion. It

also helps develop local capacity for disaster risk management. However, practitioners noted that introduction of

new materials and construction techniques, which may be necessary to achieve hazard-resistant construction,

were sometimes resisted or ineffectively implemented. Other times, decisions at the design stage did not

adequately reflect field realities, increasing risk to future occupants. Overall, reduction in labor and material

costs often came with slower construction and higher costs devoted to local training and oversight. The insights

help identify key principles for community-based construction that can help ensure safer schools and increased

community capacity for disaster risk reduction.