By Meghna Sharma, Fernando Ramirez Cortes, Jingzhe Wu

In 2018, government-run schools in India’s northeastern state of Nagaland lacked safe, basic infrastructure. 

Most of the state’s two million people lived in the rural areas where road connectivity was poor, and population density was low. Given these challenges, the nearly 2,000 rural schools lacked libraries, science labs, and other basic equipment. Almost half of them had no power or water.  Besides, less than three percent catered to children with special needs. The rolling hills of Nagaland were also prone to earthquakes, landslides and floods, with climate change likely to increase these vulnerabilities. 

The lack of adequate school infrastructure impacted the education of 150,000 students, most of whom were first-generation learners. And, while large disparities existed between the state’s sixteen districts, enrolment and learning levels were low, and dropout rates were among the highest in the country. 

In 2021, Nagaland sought to breathe new life into its education system, with support from the World Bank.  In collaboration with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the World Bank supported the state government in crafting a long-term strategy and action plan for upgrading the infrastructure in state schools and making them accessible and resilient. This formed the cornerstone of the World Bank’s Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources (NECTAR) project, which aims to enhance the school environment and improve learning.

Strategic planning and strong community engagement

To begin with, GFDRR carried out a rapid diagnostic survey of more than 700 government schools in the state, representing all types of schools.  The survey documented the geographic location of each school (urban or rural), its size and building type (concrete or bamboo), its accessibility, the hazards to which it was exposed, the trends of population growth, and so on. 

Then, building on Nagaland’s strong culture of community-led development, it consulted communities to identify the most pressing needs in each school – did it need power or water, better sanitation and hygiene, greater connectivity, improved classrooms and outdoor facilities, or more facilities for children with special needs? And would the infrastructure need repairing, retrofitting, or replacing Based on this, customized guidelines were developed that the government and community could use to improve the situation. 

In addition, a tool was created to help the government prioritize actions so that resources could be allocated more efficiently. The tool ascertained the demand for seats at each school, taking into account the changing demographics of each region, including whether families were migrating into or out of the area.  

The state’s education officials were trained in the use of the tool and the application of the guidelines to the specific challenges in each school.  Communities were also made aware of these challenges and what could be done to improve the situation, while local leaders were given the responsibility to regularly upgrade and maintain their school infrastructure.

These 2-tiered capacity-building programs helped ensure that all the stakeholders understood the guidelines and were able to apply them effectively. "After attending the training, I'll now try to identify the various hazards related to our schools and try to intervene so that disasters can be mitigated," remarked a school official after attending the training. 

Lessons for other states facing similar challenges

Recommendations from the GFDRR’s Safer Schools program also helped Nagaland draw up state-wide investment plans for upgrading school infrastructure that were sustainable, far-reaching, and scalable.

Nagaland’s experience in building resilient schools that can withstand a variety of challenges can help other states in India’s northeastern region that are facing similar challenges.

In the end, a safer learning environment for each child not only contributes to the sustainable development of local communities but helps build the human capital of the country. 

As Ms. Avelu Ruho, Joint Secretary in Nagaland’s Department of School Education notes, “the safety of children is a collective responsibility, and we are happy to have taken a step forward towards understanding how we can ensure that by building safe structures and environments.”