© Secondary school enrolment
3.7 million refugee children are out of school.
The gains in educational enrolment revealed in this year’s UNHCR report on refugees and education, small as they are in percentage terms, still represent life-changing opportunities for tens of thousands of refugee children, adolescents and youth.
Refugee enrolment in primary school is up from 61 to 63 per cent, while secondary level enrolment has risen from 23 to 24 per cent. There has been a rise in the numbers of refugees accessing higher education to from 1 to 3 per cent.
Of the 19.9 million refugees under our care, 7.4 million are of school age. Their access to education is limited, with 4 million unable to attend school.
The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants pinpoints education as a critical element of the international refugee response. Furthermore, Sustainable Development Goal 4 aims to deliver “inclusive and quality education for all and to promote lifelong learning”.
UNHCR partners with governments and international organisations to ensure quality protective education for refugee children and young people everywhere. Together with your help, they can learn how to rebuild their lives.
Education is a basic human right, enshrined in the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Education protects refugee children and youth from forced recruitment into armed groups, child labour, sexual exploitation and child marriage. Education also strengthens community resilience.
Education empowers by giving refugees the knowledge and skills to live productive, fulfilling and independent lives.
Education enlightens refugees, enabling them to learn about themselves and the world around them, while striving to rebuild their lives and communities.
Teaching About Refugees
Professional resources and teaching materials for primary and secondary school teachers.
Coming Together For Refugee Education
Coronavirus a dire threat to refugee education – half of the world's refugee children out of school
Stepping Up: Refugee education in crisis
UNHCR report reveals that more than half of the world's school-age refugee children do not get an education.
Publications and external links I
- COVID-19 – Refugees Return to Schooling Guidelines (PDF)
- Supporting Continued Access to Education During COVID-19 (PDF)
- Supporting Continued Access to Education During COVID-19. Emerging Promising Practices. (Issue 2/ PDF)
- Her Turn: It's time to make refugee girls' education a priority
- Refugee Education 2030: A Strategy for Refugee Inclusion (PDF)
- Education 2030: A Strategy for Refugee Education (French Version/ PDF)
Publications and external links II
- COVID-19: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools: A safe return to schools for refugee children and youth, 2020 (PDF)
- How to ensure everyone can continue learning amid the coronavirus situation. Connected education: resources, considerations & guidance (PDF)
- Education in Emergencies coordination – Harnessing humanitarian and development architecture for Education 2030 (PDF)
- Emerging lessons from country experiences of reopening schools (PDF)
- UNHCR-UNESCO-EAA Policy Paper - What a waste: Ensure that migrants and refugees' qualifications and prior learning are recognized (PDF)