Right to Education for Refugees

Date finished: April 28th, 2021

            According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) , one fifth of children worldwide are out of school, and that number has barely gone down over the past five years. Thus, it is hard to imagine that 750 million adults around the world, with two-thirds of which being women, still lack the basic reading and writing skills. (Angeles) Article 26 in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights states that “everyone has the right to education”. ("Right to Education") This implies that the right to education, instead of being a privilege, is one of the most fundamental human rights. All over the world, refugees are out of school due to such reasons as financial challenges and language barriers. Measures must be adopted to secure the right to accessible education for everyone, no matter their race, ethnicity, or gender; the best solution is to make schools free of charge.

            The UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights once expressed that the right to education should be available to everyone and requires that functioning educational institutions and programs have to be available in sufficient quantity within a country.("Right to Education") This emphasizes the fact that everyone should have the right to education. However, in countries like Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and so on, refugee children are out of school. Among the 7.1 million refugee children of school age, 3.7 million do not go to school. ("Education for migrants: an inalienable human right") Currently, the biggest challenge for refugee children to be in school is financial problems. Keep in mind that refugee families have often lost everything, so most of them don’t have the money to pay for tuition, especially when refugees in some countries are required to pay the higher international student fees. This results in high drop-out rates. Moreover, if refugees, especially unaccompanied children, are to live in a new country, they need basic language courses; however, some countries might not provide them. This makes it hard for children to keep up in school. Thus, not all schools accept refugees. Schools run by organizations like the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)  or CARE are all packed with kids, and they often have to run triple shifts.

            Organizations like the UNHCR have been trying to help refugees get an education. For example, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has a goal of “creating quality learning spaces in formal schools and informal education settings, such as community-based education and accelerated learning programs for children who have missed years of schooling” and “providing teaching and learning materials so teachers and facilitators are equipped to teach meaningful lessons”. ("Education”) Up till now, the IRC has provided 1,474,900 children with schooling and education opportunities. Furthermore, the UNHCR developed a program in 2019 to provide children with the necessary academic skills in order for them to build their own life, as well as for them to access a normal childhood and feel included within their community. UNHCR supports 700 non-Syrian refugee youth from the most vulnerable families to stay in school by helping them to cover the costs of education. ("Supporting Non-Syrian Refugees – UNHCR") These programs may have made a small difference, but worldwide, refugees without access to education is still a problem.

            Further actions should be taken in order to ensure everyone, especially refugees, the right to education. First and foremost, education should be free of charge. According to the international human rights law, primary education should be compulsory and free of charge. Secondary and higher education should be made progressively free of charge. This can encourage refugees to send their children to school without worrying about financial challenges. The students will also learn more effectively since they don’t need to worry about one day having to drop out of school because their families lack the money to support them. Without having to worry about the tuition, refugee families can spend their money on other things, like providing themselves with a better and more comfortable life. This may be costly, but in the future, the refugee children with an education will pay back their host countries in other ways. Countries like Poland have already put this plan into action and it proves to be effective. Poland has one of the best education systems in the world. Secondly, countries should provide free international schools that can provide education to refugees in their home curriculum and language. People and organizations can raise funds to help countries achieve that. International schools can spare refugee children the trouble of coping and struggling with a new language in public schools. This will also dramatically decrease drop-out rates since the children are familiar with the language and curriculum.

            Education should be available and accessible to everyone, no matter their race, ethnicity, or gender. Despite the fact that organizations have been trying to secure refugees the right to education, it still remains a problem. Financial challenges are the biggest barrier for refugees to go to school. Consequently, schools should be free of charge.

Works Cited

Angeles, Jana. "Education Statistics around the Globe." Upskilled, 28 May 2019, www.upskilled.edu.au/skillstalk/education-statistics-around-the-globe. Accessed 26 Mar. 2021.

"Education." International Rescue Committee, www.rescue.org/outcome/education. Accessed 28 Apr. 2021.

"Education for migrants: an inalienable human right." UNESCO, en.unesco.org/courier/2018-4/education-migrants-inalienable-human-right. Accessed 16 Apr. 2021.

"Right to Education." Australian Government, Attorney-General's Department, www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/human-rights-and-anti-discrimination/human-rights-scrutiny/public-sector-guidance-sheets/right-education#:~:text=The%20UN%20Committee%20on%20Economic%20Social%20and%20Cultural,be%20available%20in%20sufficient%20quantity%20within%20a%20country. Accessed 26 Mar. 2021.

"Supporting Non-Syrian Refugees – UNHCR." UN Refugee Agency, refugee-educationfund.org/en/supporting-non-syrian-refugees-unhcr/. Accessed 28 Apr. 2021.