Navigating Governance for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Education: Insights from Disaster-Prone Schools in Nepal

This article draws from detailed qualitative case studies of three schools located in disaster prone context in Nepal. It explores the importance of governance in DRR education interventions in low-income country like Nepal. Using Robertson et al.’s [1] pluri-scalar education governance framework, this study establishes relationships between disaster governance, education governance and curriculum governance in mainstreaming disaster risk reduction (DRR) education in school curriculum. It analyses local, regional, national, and global governances to address disaster management and DRR issues in a sustainable manner. This study presents the current structures that support or hinder the disaster governance practices to mainstream DRR in education. It further indicates that the provision of disaster governance in the education sector is a newly introduced area. It finds that in the context of centralised curriculum development practices, less importance has given to the local disaster context in school curriculum. Similarly, it notices that teacher centered curriculum activities in DRR education generate limited learning experiences to students. Due to the lack of efficient DRR governance mechanisms the DRR interventions in education carried out at various levels by the state or the non-state actors are found not focused enough to address disaster vulnerability. This article concludes with what the study data explains about the need for and importance of disaster and education governance in order to ensure DRR practices are widespread in education.