Ensuring refugees’ rights to quality education access in educational systems

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Mr. Anthony Collins, a fourth year Medical Student from UWI Mona in Kingston, Jamaica. He is affiliated to the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writers and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

With the war in Ukraine among other global tragedies occurring concurrently it’s estimated that about 117.2 million people will be forcibly displaced or stateless in 2023 according to UNHCR. These staggering numbers affect people known as refugees: someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. This negatively impacts not just them but the others, the economy and world on a whole. To mitigate this pandemic, ensuring the right to quality education is key. 

Education is a basic right as stipulated by the Convention of the Rights of the Child as it gives them the best opportunity for survival. It protects refugees from forced recruitment into armed groups, child labour, sexual exploitation and child marriage. With this said, access to quality education offers refugees a stable environment where they can rebuild their communities and pursue productive meaningful lives. This also aids them in reintegrating into society where they can then contribute to the country’s overall development in a variety of sectors. 

Even with access they face a myriad of challenges ranging from language barrier to xenophobia. These can be combated by: 

1. Inclusion in national educational systems at every level. For this to happen countries must adopt strong policies for the inclusion of refugees to create opportunities for them. This includes physical access to classrooms, participating in exams and gaining qualifications. Most importantly is bridging the digital divide. 

2. Bridging the digital divide. Many aren’t able to learn due to being unable to physically access classrooms and as such the governments should invest and develop their digital infrastructure. This would make digital approaches possible where classes are streamed live. 

3. Support from families and caregivers aids in motivation to finish education as well as to manage burnout and other emotional and psychosocial components that students often face at school. These for refugees include not only stress of assignments but abuse and violence and if they occur the family can identify risk factors and make the necessary modifications. 

4. Safe reopening of schools. The school environment needs to be conducive to learning so it needs to be up to standard in terms of health inspections, food security and basic amenities such as water and proper sanitation and waste disposal. 

In conclusion, refugees are still in fact people and they play an important role in society. They need quality access to education if they are to lead productive lives and not contribute to crime voluntarily or otherwise. As such all barriers need to be rectified to give them the best chance of survival. 

References

GuiaPractica02_Educacion_En.pdf (oas.org)

Education | UNHCR

Five key facts about refugee children’s education (unrefugees.org)

About the author

Anthony Collins is a fourth year Medical Student from UWI Mona in Kingston, Jamaica. He’s very passionate about research, forensics and pathology and therefore spends his time gaining experience in those areas. He also volunteers to help those in need and the environment. He serves as the Vice President of External Affairs of JAMSA Jamaica (a member of IFMSA), secretary for the Rotaract Club of UWI Mona and Assistant Treasurer for UWI One Life where he gains further personal and professional development as a student leader serving his fellow students.

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