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M a r t h a K . F e r e d e 2 0 1 8
HIGHER EDUCATION FOR REFUGEES
This paper was commissioned by the Global Education Monitoring Report as background information to assist in drafting the 2019 GEM Report, Migration, displacement and education: Building bridges, not walls. It has not been edited by the team. The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and should not be attributed to the Global Education Monitoring Report or to UNESCO. The papers can be cited with the following reference: “Paper commissioned for the 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report, Migration, displacement and education: Building bridges, not walls”. For further information, please contact [email protected].
08Fall
Background paper prepared for the 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report
Migration, displacement and education: Building bridges, not walls
ED/GEMR/MRT/2018/P1/24/Rev2
2
CONTENTSAcronyms.......................................................................................................................................................3
Terminology...................................................................................................................................................4
Abstract.........................................................................................................................................................5
Introduction...................................................................................................................................................6
Part1:Impetus,InternationalConventionsandenrolmentdata...................................................................61a.Whydoeshighereducationforrefugeesmatter?........................................................................61b.Internationaldeclarationsandconventions...............................................................................101c.Refugees’highereducationenrolmentdata...............................................................................11
PartII:BarrierstoHigherEducationforRefugees.........................................................................................162a.Missingqualificationsandevaluationofcredentials..................................................................172b.Interruptededucation/gapsinlearning....................................................................................182c.Limitedlanguageproficiency.......................................................................................................182d.Informationbarrier.....................................................................................................................202e.Prohibitivecostofhighereducation...........................................................................................212f.Hostcountrylimitedresourcestoexpandhighereducationtorefugees...................................222g.LegislativeChallenges..................................................................................................................232h.Insecurityinhostcountries.........................................................................................................24
PartIII:IncentivesandProgrammes.............................................................................................................253a.Alternativecredentialevaluationschemes.................................................................................253b.Hostlanguage-learninginitiatives...............................................................................................273c.Scholarshipschemes...................................................................................................................273d.Refugeepeer-to-peerinitiatives.................................................................................................333e.Onlineandblendedhighereducationforrefugees....................................................................343f.Initiativessupportingacademicsinneedofrefuge.....................................................................373g.CapacitybuildinginitiativesoffacultyandstaffatHEIs..............................................................393h.Resettlementthroughhighereducation.....................................................................................40
CaseStudy:WUSCStudentRefugeeProgramme..........................................................................................42
PartIV:Recommendations...........................................................................................................................47Policy.................................................................................................................................................47Research............................................................................................................................................49
Conclusion....................................................................................................................................................50
References...................................................................................................................................................52
3
ACRONYMS
AY Academicyear
CEFR CommonEuropeanFrameworkofReference
Cara CouncilforAt-RiskAcademics
CLCC ConnectedLearninginCrisisConsortium
DAFI AlbertEinsteinGermanAcademicRefugeeInitiative
ERN EuropeanResettlementNetwork
HEI HigherEducationInstitution
IIE InstituteofInternationalEducation
ISCED TheInternationalStandardClassificationofEducation
MOOC MassiveOpenOnlineCourse
NARIC NationalAcademicRecognitionInformationCentresintheEuropeanUnion
NOKUT NorwegianAgencyforQualityAssuranceinEducation
SAR ScholarsatRisk
SDG SustainableDevelopmentGoals
SRP StudentRefugeeProgram
TOEFL TestofEnglishasaForeignLanguage
TVET TechnicalandVocationalEducationandTraining
UIS UNESCOInstituteforStatistics
UN UnitedNations
UNESCO UnitedNationsEducationScientificandCulturalOrganization
UNHCR UnitedNationsHighCommissionerforRefugees
UNICEF UnitedNationsChildren’sEducationFund
WUSC WorldUniversityServiceofCanada
4
TERMINOLOGYAsylumSeeker
Anasylum-seekerissomeonewhoserequestforsanctuaryhasyettobeprocessed(UNHCR,2016a).
HigherEducation
Ingeneral,highereducationisconsideredasformaleducationthatfollowssecondaryeducation.Assuch,highereducationisalsoreferredtoaspost-secondaryortertiaryeducation.
For thepurposesof thispaper, I use the International StandardClassificationofEducation (ISCED)description(UNESCOInstituteforStatistics[UIS],2012).TheISCEDdistinguishesbetween:
• Short-cycletertiaryeducationprogrammesatISCEDlevel5(atleasttwoyears);• Bachelor’sorequivalentfirstdegreeprogrammesatISCEDlevel6(threetofouryears);• Bachelor’sorequivalentlongfirstdegreeprogrammesatISCEDlevel6(morethanfour
years);• Master’sorequivalentlongfirstdegreeprogrammesatISCEDlevel7(atleastfiveyears);• Doctorallevel-thesuccessfulcompletionofISCEDlevel7isusuallyrequiredforentryinto
ISCEDlevel8.
Tertiaryeducationandhighereducationareusedinterchangeably.
HigherEducationInstitutions(HEIs)
Referstouniversities,othereducationalestablishments,centresandstructuresofhighereducation,and centres of research and culture associatedwith any of the above, public or private, that areapproved as such, either through recognised accreditation systems or by the competent stateauthorities(UNESCO,1997).
Refugee
The1951UNConventionRelatingtotheStatusofRefugees,Section1(A)definesarefugeeas:“Apersonwhoowingtoawell-foundedfearofbeingpersecutedforreasonsofrace,religion,nationality,membershipofaparticularsocialgrouporpoliticalopinionisoutsidethecountryofhisnationalityandisunableor,owingtosuchfear,isunwillingtoavailhimselfoftheprotectionofthatcountry;orwho,nothavinganationalityandbeingoutsidethecountryofhisformerhabitualresidenceasaresultofsuchevents,isunableor,owingtosuchfear,isunwillingtoreturntoit”
(UnitedNationsGeneralAssembly[UNGA],1951).InlinewithUNHCR(2018a,p.61)definitions,“Therefugeepopulationalsoincludespeopleinrefugee-likesituationsthatincludesgroupsofpeoplewhoareoutsidetheircountryorterritoryoforiginandwhofaceprotectionriskssimilartothoseofrefugeesbutforwhomrefugeestatushas,forpracticalorotherreasons,notbeenascertained.”
ABSTRACT
Higher education holds many benefits for refugees. Yet, historically, their higher education
opportunitieshavebeenverylimited.Thispaperaddressesrefugees’accessto,andparticipationin,
higher education by examining factors that serve as barriers. It then specifies initiatives aimed at
increasing access. A case study based on original research delves deeply into how peer-to-peer
sponsorship holds great promise for increasing higher education access and durable solutions for
refugeeyouth.Thepapercloseswithrecommendationsforpolicyandresearch.
6
INTRODUCTION
In 2016, less than 1% of refugee youth had access to higher education. A myriad of challenges
accountforthislowrate,includinglearninggapsduetointerruptedschooling,issueswithacademic
credentials,financialconstraintsandlimitedfluencyinthelanguageofinstruction.
Thispaperaddressesrefugees’accesstohighereducationinthreeparts;thefirstpartgroundsthe
issue by demonstrating the impetus for higher education for refugees, outlining the international
conventionsthatcall forrefugees’participation inhighereducationandprovidingenrolmentdata.
The second part outlines the various barriers to access. In the third part, the paper identifies
initiativesdesignedtoincreasehighereducationaccessforrefugees.Inthissection,adetailedcase
studyontheWorldUniversityServiceofCanada’s(WUSC)StudentRefugeeProgram(SRP)describes
auniqueinitiativethatoffersrefugeeyouthaccesshighereducationandtothedurablesolutionof
resettlement.Thepapercloseswithrecommendationsforpolicyandresearch.
PART1:IMPETUS,INTERNATIONALCONVENTIONSANDENROLMENTDATA
1a.Whydoeshighereducationforrefugeesmatter?
The benefits of higher education are best organised under those garnered at the individual and
societal levels. At the individual level, economists note advantages to education are particularly
robust with the completion of a bachelor’s degree. Higher education has been shown to be a
gateway to upward social and economicmobility by enabling access to higher-skilled, better-paid
positions,accesstowell-connectedsocialnetworks,andentryintothemiddleclass(Ma,Pender,&
Welch,2016).TheOECD(2011)foundthat in‘Brazil,theCzechRepublic,Greece,Hungary,Poland,
theSlovakRepublicandtheUnitedStates,menholdingadegreefromauniversityoranadvanced
research programme earn at least 80% more than men who have an upper secondary or post-
secondarynon-tertiaryeducation.InBrazil,Greece,Hungary,Ireland,Japan,theSlovakRepublic,the
UnitedKingdomandtheUnitedStates,womenhaveasimilaradvantage’(p.139).
Besides individual economic gains, personswith a bachelor’s degree aremore tolerant of others,
tendtohavelowerchildmortalityrates,andlivelongerandhealthierlives.Thepublicbenefitsofan
7
educated population include a lowered burden on criminal and social services, increased political
engagementandincreasedtaxesfromahigher-earninglabourforce(Baum,Ma,&Payea,2013).
The private and public benefits of higher education appear to hold irrespective of immigration
status.Thepertinentquestionis;doeshighereducationmatterinparticularforrefugees,andifso,
why?
SUPPORTSDURABLESOLUTIONSFORREFUGEES
Access to primary and secondary education iswidely accepted to be critical to thewellbeing and
livelihoodofallchildren.However,highereducationforrefugeeshasonlycomeintofocusinrecent
years.Thisisdue,inpart,toUNHCR’s2012-2016EducationStrategythatforthefirsttime,included
highereducationforrefugeesasakeypriorityarea.Priortothis,itwasrarelyconsideredaspartofa
humanitarianresponsestrategy.
HighereducationholdsvalueforallthreeofUNHCR’ssolutions1forrefugees:
1)Repatriationintotheircountryoforigin2;
2)Integrationintocurrentcountryofasylum;
3)Resettlementintoathirdcountry.
Highereducationplaysan important role inadvancing refugees’ integration intohost societies, in
developing skill sets that canbe leveraged for entry into labourmarkers and towardpost-conflict
reconstructionincountriesoforigin. Forexample,astudyof5,000universitygraduateswhoheld
DAFI scholarships (UNHCR’s higher education scholarship programme)3 and had completed their
studiesinAfrica,Asia,theAmericasandEurope,foundthat78%ofthoseintegratedintotheirhost
countries and 93% of those who had repatriated were employed (Morlang & Watson, 2007).
Graduatescontributedtothehumanresourceneedsofthedevelopingcountrieswheretheywere
1Formoredetail,visithttp://www.unhcr.org/solutions.html2UNHCRprioritisesthepromotionofenablingconditionsforvoluntaryrepatriation.Theseshouldensurethatindividualscanexerciseafreeandinformedchoice,andtomobilisesupportforreturnees.UNHCRpromotesandfacilitatesvoluntaryrepatriationthroughvariousmeans.Safeanddignifiedvoluntaryrepatriationrequiresthefullcommitmentofthecountryoforigintohelpreintegrateitsownpeople.3ForadetaileddescriptionoftheDAFI,seepage28.
8
hosted or repatriated and also supported these countries’ reconstruction and sustainable
development.Sincemanyheldleadershippositions,theyalsoservedasimportantrolemodels,4thus
amplifyingtheoriginalscholarshipinvestment(Morlang&Watson,2007).
SERVESAPROTECTIVEFUNCTION
Education,atalllevels,performsaprotectivefunction(UNHCR&UNESCO,2016).Highereducation
protects refugees frommarginalisation and abuse (Kirk & Sherab, 2016). According to Barakat &
Milton (2015), higher education can also help young men and women to remain hopeful and
resistant,protectingthemfromthepullandrhetoricofextremistgroups.
OFFERSAPOSITIVEIDENTITY
The1951UNConventionRelating to theStatusofRefugees, Section1(A)definesa refugeeas: ‘A
person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion,
nationality,membershipofaparticularsocialgrouporpoliticalopinionisoutsidethecountryofhis
nationalityandisunableor,owingtosuchfear,isunwillingtoavailhimselfoftheprotectionofthat
country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual
residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it’
(UNGA,1951).
Thus,lossandfeararenotonlycentraltothedefinitionofrefugees,theirexperiences,butarealso
part of the dominant narrative and collective imagination of ‘refugee-ness’ (Zeus, 2011).5 When
they enter higher education institutions, refugees adopt the (additional) identity of student and
scholarandbenefitfromthepositiveconnotationsofthisidentification.Highereducationstudents
are often heralded the future innovators, thinkers and leaders of knowledge–based societies. In
essence,theidentityofstudentisnotheavywithlossbutratherhopefulwithpossibility.6
4Thiswasespeciallytrueforfemalerefugees,whoservedasmentorsforfemalesintheircommunity.
5Refugeesalsocrossotherbarrierssuchaslinguisticandculturalborders.Theyalsomoveacrossinternalbordersofidentity.Thedominantnarrative(oftendeficit-based)ofrefugeesplaysoutinmainstreammediaandthroughpoliticalrhetoric.6InanarticlebyYoung-Powell(2015)aSyrianasylumseekerinaGermanuniversitystated,‘Universityistheoneplacewhereyou’renotlabelled.’
9
PROVIDESACCESSTOSOCIALANDECONOMICMOBILITY
Povertyisasignificantissueforrefugees.Forinstance,a2016WorldBankandUNHCRstudyfound
that the majority of Syrian refugees living in Lebanon and Jordan were vulnerable and living in
poverty.Thereportstatesthatin2014,
Sevenin10registeredSyrianrefugeeslivinginJordanandLebanoncouldbeconsideredpoor.This number increases to 9 in 10 refugees if the poverty lines used by the respective hostcountriesareconsidered.ThepovertyofSyrianrefugeesishigherinJordanthaninLebanon.In Jordan, there is also evidence that poverty among refugees has increased by severalpercentagepointsbetween2013and2015.(Vermeetal.2016,p.xvi)
As indicated earlier, higher education and particularly bachelor’s degrees, hold important private
and public benefits. By providing the opportunity to access to skilled, well-paid positions in the
labourmarket, higher education can provide refugeeswithmuch needed economic benefits. It is
also a way for refugees to foster supportive social networks of peers and community members,
whichisnecessaryforsuccessfulintegration.7
CONTRIBUTESTOTHEPUBLICGOODROLEOFHIGHEREDUCATION
Higher education has a ‘common public good’ role that extends beyond teaching and research.
DuringUNESCO’s(1991)secondconsultationofNGOsonTheRoleofHigherEducationinSociety,the
variousstakeholdersrecommendedthatinadditiontoexcellenceinteaching,trainingandresearch,
the social function of higher education should be guided by ‘the relevance of services offered by
highereducationinstitutionstotheperceivedpriorityneedsoftheirrespectivesocieties’(UNESCO,
1991).8
Providingaccesstorefugeesandasylumseekersispartofthepublicfunctionofhighereducation.At
thelocallevel,educatedrefugeesarebetterabletoadaptandintegrateintohostcommunitiesand
economies(incountrieswheretheyhavethelegalrighttowork).Inaddition,ifthosewhohavefled
are ever able to return to their country of origin with skills and the understanding of the
consequences of conflict, this has great value to rebuilding societies that prioritise peace. For
instance,Coffie(2014)foundthatofLiberianrefugeereturneesfromGhanaandGuinea,thosewho
7Detailsonhighereducation’sroleindevelopingsocialcapitalcanbefoundinthecasestudy(p.42)8UNESCOistheonlyUnitedNationsagencywithamandateinhighereducation.
10
were able to access higher education opportunities during their period of exile, deployed their
professionsandskillstowardspeacebuildinguponreturningtoLiberia.
In sum, there is a clear impetus for providing higher education access for refugees. Next, the
conventionsthatunderpintheprovisionofhighereducationforrefugeesareoutlined.
1b.Internationaldeclarationsandconventions
Access to and provision of higher education for refugees finds support in several international
declarations,resolutionsandconventionsincluding:
• Article26oftheUniversalDeclarationofHumanRights:Everyonehastherighttoeducation.Educationshallbefree,atleastintheelementaryandfundamentalstages.Elementaryeducationshallbecompulsory.Technicalandprofessionaleducationshallbemadegenerallyavailableandhighereducationshallbeequallyaccessibletoallonthebasisofmerit(UNGA,1948);
• Article22oftheConventionRelatingtotheStatusofRefugees:ContractingStatesshallaccordtorefugeesthesametreatmentasisaccordedtonationalswithrespecttoelementaryeducation;andTheContractingStatesshallaccordtorefugeestreatmentasfavourableaspossible,and,inanyevent,notlessfavourablethanthataccordedtoaliensgenerallyinthesamecircumstances,withrespecttoeducationotherthanelementaryeducationand,inparticular,asregardsaccesstostudies,therecognitionofforeignschoolcertificates,diplomasanddegrees,theremissionoffeesandchargesandtheawardofscholarships(UNGA,1951);
• Article13.2coftheInternationalCovenantonEconomic,SocialandCulturalRights:Highereducationshallbemadeequallyaccessibletoall,onthebasisofcapacity,byeveryappropriatemeans,andinparticularbytheprogressiveintroductionoffreeeducation(UNGA,1966);
• Article28oftheInternationalConventionontheRightsoftheChild:Makehighereducationaccessibletoallonthebasisofcapacitybyeveryappropriatemeans(UNGA,1989);
• Article5e.VoftheConventionontheEliminationofAllFormsofRacialDiscrimination:StatesPartiesundertaketoprohibitandtoeliminateracialdiscriminationinallitsformsandtoguaranteetherightofeveryone,withoutdistinctionastorace,colour,ornationalorethnicorigin,toequalitybeforethelaw,notablyintheenjoymentofthefollowingrights[…]therighttoeducationandtraining(UNGA,1965);
• Article10oftheConventionontheEliminationofAllFormsofDiscriminationAgainstWomen:StatesPartiesshalltakeallappropriatemeasurestoeliminatediscrimination
11
againstwomeninordertoensuretothemequalrightswithmeninthefieldofeducationandinparticulartoensure,onabasisofequalityofmenandwomen:(a)Thesameconditionsforcareerandvocationalguidance,foraccesstostudiesandfortheachievementofdiplomasineducationalestablishmentsofallcategoriesinruralaswellasinurbanareas;thisequalityshallbeensuredinpre-school,general,technical,professionalandhighertechnicaleducation,aswellasinalltypesofvocationaltraining(UNGA,1979);
• Article14.2oftheConventionontheEliminationofAllFormsofDiscriminationAgainstWomen:StatesPartiesshalltakeallappropriatemeasurestoeliminatediscriminationagainstwomeninruralareasinordertoensure,onabasisofequalityofmenandwomen,thattheyparticipateinandbenefitfromruraldevelopmentand,inparticular,shallensuretosuchwomentheright…(d)Toobtainalltypesoftrainingandeducation,formalandnon-formal,includingthatrelatingtofunctionalliteracy,aswellas,interalia,thebenefitofallcommunityandextensionservices,inordertoincreasetheirtechnicalproficiency(UNGA,18December1979);
1c.Refugees’highereducationenrolmentdata
AccordingtotheUNHCR(2016b),only1%ofrefugeeshaveaccesstohighereducation.Thisstatistic
wasfirstnotedinthe2016reportMissingOut:RefugeeEducationinCrisis.Whatistheevidencefor
thisoften-citedrate?UNHCRutilisedtwotypesofdata:1) internaldatacollectedthroughcountry
operations,atindividualrefugeeandhouseholdlevels;and2)externaldatafromUISstatistics,host
governments and information gathered from NGOs and civil societies. UNHCR extrapolated the
numbers to factor in situations where data collection was difficult and/or incomplete due to a
numberofchallenges.9
While on average only 1% of all refugees taken together worldwide have access to higher
education,thereisvariationatthecountrylevel.Forexample,in2014,whileonlylessthan2%of
SyrianrefugeeswereenrolledinTurkey,theywereashighas6%inLebanon,and8%inJordanand
Egypt(Cremonini,Loriska&Safar,2015).
9UNHCRhasindicatedthatgivenincreasedattentiononhighereducationandexpandedsupportprogrammesavailabletotheforciblydisplacedworldwideinrecentyears,itiscurrentlyengaginginadatareviewprocessandworkingwithresearchinstitutionstodetermineaccessandenrolmenttrends.
12
Figure 1. Percentage of Syrians enrolled in tertiary education in four MENA countries, 2014(Cremonini,Lorisika&Safar,2015)
Tofurtherillustratethevariationinrefugees’highereducationenrolmentatcountrylevel,thissub-
sectionexaminesenrolmentdataforoneselectedcountryineachoftheregionsofAfrica,Asiaand
thePacific,Europe,MiddleEastandNorthAfrica (MENA),NorthAmericaandSouthAmerica.The
countries(Ethiopia,Australia,Turkey,CanadaandBrazil)wereselectedfor:1)hostinglargenumbers
ofrefugeesand2)havingreliableenrolmentdataavailable.10
REGION:AFRICA
Country example: Ethiopia
Ethiopiaisthesecondlargestrefugee-hostingcountryinAfrica,secondonlytoKenya.Attheendof
September2017, Ethiopiahosted883,546 refugeeswith99%originating from just four countries:
Eritrea,Somalia,SudanandSouthSudan(UNHCR,2018b).
In2016,approximately1,600refugeeswerestudyingindifferenthighereducationinstitutions(HEIs)
acrossthecountry.Approximately1,300(81%)oftheserefugeesweresponsoredbytheEthiopian
government and enrolled in state-owned universities. The German government-funded DAFI
Scholarship Programme supported the remaining 300 students. In addition, 2,638 adult refugees
10TheonlyexceptionisBrazil,whereenrolmentdatawasnotavailable.
0 2 4 6 8
10
Egypt Jordan Lebanon Turkey
Per
cent
age
Enro
lled
Country
Percentage of Syrians Enrolled in Tertiary Education in 4 MENA Countries (2014)
13
were enrolled in technical and vocational education and training (TVET)with another 9,672 adult
refugeesenrolledinAdultFunctionalLiteracyandNumeracyprogrammes(UNHCR,2016b).
REGION:MIDDLEEASTANDNORTHAFRICA
Country example: Turkey
There are over 2.9 million Syrian refugees registered in Turkey, by far the largest host of Syrian
refugeesglobally(UNHCR,2017). In2011,earlyintheSyriancrisis, it isestimatedthattherewere
about4,000Syrian studentsenrolled inTurkishuniversities.However, in the2015-2016Academic
Year (AY) enrolmentmore than doubled to reach 10,000 students and increased again to 14,000
students in the 2016 -17 AY (Yavcan& El-Ghali, 2017). The 2016 enrolment of Syrian refugees in
Turkishhighereducationbydegreelevelshowsthatthemajoritywereenrolledinbachelor’sdegree
programmesandseveralhundredwerecompletingtheirdoctoraldegrees(Table1).
Table1.
SyrianStudentsinTurkishHigherEducationbyDegreeLevel2016-2017
Degreelevel NumberofStudentsEnroled
AssociateDegrees 1,102
BachelorDegrees 12,127
MastersDegrees 1,067
DoctoralDegrees 335
Total 14,631
Note.Reprintedfrom“HigherEducationandSyrianRefugeeStudents:TheCaseofTurkey”byYavcan,B.&El-Ghali,H.A.(2017),p.18.
REGION:ASIAANDTHEPACIFICREGION
Country example: Australia
UsingdatafromtheDepartmentofEducationandTraining’sHigherEducationStatisticsCollection,a
group of researchers at the University of Melbourne examined the 2009-2014 higher education
enrolmentofstudentsfromrefugeebackgrounds(Terry,Naylor,Nguyen&Rizzo,2016).Theyfound
that therewere3,506 studentswitha refugeebackgroundenrolled inAustralianHEIsasof2014.
StudentswithrefugeebackgroundsinAustralianHEIsdoubledfrom2009-2014,withapproximately
14
73%undertakingfulltimestudies.Thedataalsoindicatedthatwhileahigherproportionofrefugee
studentsweremen, therewas gender variation by country of origin. For instance,more female
Iraqis of refugee backgrounds were enrolled thanmale Iraqis (176 versus 167) while there were
nearlyequalnumbersoffemaleandmalestudentsfromIranenrolled(251femalesand252males).
Bycontrast,372%moreSudanesemales(216)thanfemales(66)wereenrolled.
REGION:EUROPE
Country example: Germany
Refugees in Germany are increasingly enrolling in university courses. A survey conducted by the
German Rectors Conference (HRK), representing the heads of German universities among its
memberinstitutions,showedthatatotalof1,140refugeeswereenrolledforstudiesin2017,which
isfivetimesasmanywereinenrolledin2016.InAY2016,approximately12,000refugeesconsulted
courseandcareerguidanceservices.In2017,thisnumberdoubledto24,000.Syriansmadeuptwo-
thirds of prospective students, while the rest arrived from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq (German
Rectors’Conference,2017).
The same survey found that approximately 5,700 refugees were enrolled in language and prep
coursesinthewintertermofthe2016-17AY,anincreaseof80%fromthe2016summerterm.The
GermanRectors Conference views this trend as a sign of the importance of scaffolding / support
programmesduringdegreecourses,aswellaspre-studypreparationandcounselling.
Interestingly,Germany’sFederalOfficeforMigrationandRefugeesreportedthataround13%ofall
refugeesenrolledindegreeprogrammesin2016alreadyheldahighereducationdegree.11
NORTHAMERICA
Country example: Canada
In Canada, the 2016 Canadian Census data shows that nearly one-third of refugees (31.5%) who
received their permanent resident status upgraded their educational credentials. For those who
arrivedasadults(18andolder)thisratewasabout22%,whichishigherthantheeconomicorfamily
categoryof immigrants.However,whileadulteconomicimmigrantswhoupgradedtheireducation
11 Entry into degree programmes are perhaps informed by the belief that a degree from the host countrywouldbemorevaluabletoenteringlabourmarketentry.
15
in Canada tended to complete a bachelor’s degree or higher, the vast majority of (71.1%) adult
refugees inCanadacompleteda tradesorcollegediploma.This suggests that financial constraints
and financial obligationsmay play a factor in decisions around the selection of higher education
programmes(StatisticsCanada,2017).12
SOUTHAMERICA
Country example: Brazil
SouthAmericancountrieshavebeenincreasinglyopeningtheirdoorstoresettlerefugeesoutsideof
theirregion.OneofthemostvisibleinitiativeswastheresettlementofPalestinianrefugeesinChile
andBrazilduring2007and2008(Ruiz,2015).
BrazilisthelargestcountryinSouthAmericaandreceivesmorerefugeesthananyothercountryin
theregion;asof2016,Brazilhostedabout2,100refugees.Bynationallaw,refugeeshaveaccessto
healthcare,educationandtherighttowork.Althoughnationaldataonhighereducationenrolment
ofrefugeesisnotyetavailable,in2017,weknowthatthereareinstitutionalinitiativestoincrease
access and enrolment. For instance, the Federal University of SantaMaria launched an initiative
focusedonvulnerablerefugeesandimmigrantswhohasrecentlyarrivedinBrazilbymakingiteasier
accesstovocational,technologicalandhighereducationdegreesforthisgroup.
Thissectionof thepaperhasarguedthat refugees’ inclusion inhighereducationholdsbenefitsat
the individual level, and for host and home societies. It has also outlined that refugees’ rights to
highereducationareenshrinedinnumerousinternationaldeclarations,resolutionsandconventions.
A review of enrolment data and trends in selected countries in five regions has revealed wide
variation.Nonetheless,globally,refugees’accesstohighereducationislow.Tounderstandtheirlow
ratesofparticipation,thenextsectionconsidersthebarriersthatrefugeesfaceinaccessinghigher
education.
12ForthefirsttimeinCanada’shistory,the2016CensusincludedinformationontheadmissioncategoryofimmigrantstoCanada.Thethreeimmigrationstreamsare1.Economic:educatedandskilledimmigrants2.Family:toreunifyfamilies3.Humanitarian:toprovidehumanitarianandcompassionaterefuge.
16
PARTII:BARRIERSTOHIGHEREDUCATIONFORREFUGEES
A brief overview of higher education admissions is essential to understand the access barriers
refugees face. Until the 20th century, formal education, and particularly higher education, was
largely inaccessible except to wealthy males.13 The shift from elite to mass higher education
increased access to awider segment of society. At the same time,with industrialisation and the
knowledge-basedeconomy,thepurposeofhighereducationalsoshiftedfromapurely intellectual
andtheoreticalpursuittoonethathadvalue(humancapital)thatcouldbeexchangedinthelabour
market (Tilak, 2008). With the massification of higher education, institutions in some countries
turnedtotesting inthefinalyearofsecondaryschooltodetermineaptitudeforhighereducation.
Overtheyears,institutionsalsobeganaddinginterviews,personalstatementsandadditionalcriteria
todetermine‘goodfit’.14
Inorder toaccess tohighereducation, refugees, likeotherapplicants,arerequiredtoundergoan
admissions process to demonstrate their eligibility and aptitude for study. Although eligibility
requirements vary widely by country and institution, in general, HEIs have the following
requirementsforapplicants:
• Proofofcitizenship,residenceorimmigrationstatus;• Documentationofsecondaryschoolleveleducationcompletion(suchasadiploma);• Transcriptsofsecondaryschoollevelcoursesandgradesachieved;• Passingscoresonsecondaryleavingexams;• Universityentryexams;• EvidenceofLanguageproficiencyinthelanguage(s)ofinstruction;• Scoresonaptitudetests(e.g.SwedishScholasticAptitudeTest);• FinancialAidorpaymentforms(indicatingabilitytopay/financialaidneeded).
13Themassiveexpansionofhighereducationinthe20thand21stcenturieswasnearlyaglobalphenomenon,withdifferencesbyregionandcountry(Schofer&Meyer,2005).Forinstance,inEuropeitwasaprocessthatunfoldedduringmuchofthetwentiethcentury,whileinAfricathedemandforhighereducationescalateddramaticallyinthepost-colonialperiodofthe1960sand1970s.14Thisalsoservedtokeepthestatusquo(andlimitentrytocertaingroups).FormoreinformationreadKarabel,2005orGolden,2006.
17
2a.Missingqualificationsandevaluationofcredentials
Thequalifications-relatedbarrierstorefugees’accesstohighereducationaretwo-fold.
First, refugeesmaybewithoutanydocumentaryevidenceofprior learning (credentials).Withthe
turbulent circumstances surrounding forced displacement, this is not surprising. Documents may
alsobelostorstolenduringthemigrationroute,inreceptioncentresandrefugeecamps.
Second, if refugees manage to flee with documentation, these credentials must be evaluated,
recognisedand/orequalised.Recognitionofcredentialsisacomplexissue-theprocessneedstobe
aligned with existing international and regional conventions, with recognition usually involving
quality assurance of the original studies and determination of the validity of incomplete studies.
Moreover,theevaluationandequalisationprocessrequireshumanandfinancialresourcesthatmay
notbeinadequatesupplyinhostcountries(UNESCO,2015).
Recognition and equalisation of credentials can prove to be especially difficult for refugees who
arrive from conflict zoneswhere institutions are looted, destroyed and/or being used formilitary
purposes.15
Inaddition,whenexileisaresultofgovernment-inflictedpersecution,governmentsfromrefugees’
countries of origins may be unwilling to offer support and substantiation of enrolment and
credentials. Forexample,Watenpaugh,Fricke,andSiegel (2013) found that theSyrianEmbassy in
Jordan, which was loyal to the Assad government, generally made their services unavailable to
Syrianswhohadcrossed into JordanwithoutaSyrianexitpermit.Moreover,even ifgovernments
are willing to provide information, if records were looted or destroyed, then the information no
longerexistsinareliableform.
15Forinstance,datafromtheGlobalCoalitiontoProtectEducationunderAttack(2018)finds:Widely-reporteddeadlyattackshaveoccurredinuniversitiesinPakistanandKenya,explosivesweresetatDhakaUniversityinBangladeshatleast35timesbetween2013and2015.
18
2b.Interruptededucation/gapsinlearning
Withtheclosingofschoolsduringconflictand/orwithyearsspentinexile,refugeescansufferfrom
interruptedschoolingandgapsinlearning.Manyrefugeesonlycompleteprimaryeducationorhave
partial secondary education. This issue is especially pronouncedwhen it is considered by gender.
UNHCRdata finds that refugee girls are less thanhalf as likely to enrol in secondary schools as
males. This, of course, limits their opportunities to enter tertiary education. UNHCR (2018b)
advocatesthateducation:
…reducesgirls’vulnerabilitytoexploitation,sexualandgender-basedviolence,teenagepregnancy and child marriage. According to UNESCO (2014), if all girls completedprimaryschool,childmarriagewouldfallby14percent. If theyall finishedsecondaryschool, it would plummet by 64 per cent. For refugee girls and women facing theincreasedrisksthatcomewithforceddisplacement,educationisparticularlyimportant.
Interruptededucationposesabarrier tohighereducation.First,a secondary schooldiploma is, in
nearly all cases, required to enter tertiary education. Second, the gaps in learning must be
addressed,prolongingthetimeittakestoenterorcompletehighereducation,addingcostandtime
forbothrefugeesandinstitutions.Third,thosewithsignificantlearninggapsmayfeelfrustratedor
unmotivatedduetorelatedtimeandcostissues.
2c.Limitedlanguageproficiency
Havinglittleornoproficiencyinthelanguage(s)ofinstructionisanotherbarriertohighereducation
access. To demonstrate the scope of the issues, Table 2 lists the official languages of the five
countrieswheremostrefugeesoriginateandtheofficiallanguagesofthefivecountriesthathostthe
highestnumbersof refugees for2015.Except forArabic, there is littleoverlap in the languagesof
countriesoforiginandthehostcountries.
In Kenya,whichhosts approximately 486,000 refugeesmainly fleeing fromSomalia, South Sudan,
Congo and Eritrea, proof of proficiency in English or Kiswahili, the languages of instruction in
universitiesandcolleges,isrequired.InWestAfrica,GhanaandGuinearequireproficiencyinEnglish
and French, respectively, for admission to universities, which partially explains English-speaking
Liberianrefugees’higheraccesstoHEIsinGhanaascomparedtoinGuinea(Coffie,2014).
19
Table2.
Languagesoftopfivecountriesoforiginsofrefugeesandtopfiverefugeehostingcountries(2015)
InGermany, thecountryhosting themost refugees inEurope,proofof the languageat Level2 in
Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang (DSH) or Level 4 in Test Deutsch als
Fremdsprache(TDN)isaperquisiteforuniversityadmission.
ToprefugeeCountriesofOrigin
Language(s)ofCountryofOrigin TopRefugeeHosting
CountriesLanguage(s)ofHostingCountry
Syria Arabic is the official languagewith dialects Levantine in thewest and Mesopotamian in thenortheast. Kurmanji,avarietyofKurdish, is spoken in theKurdishregions.
Turkey Turkish is theofficial language.Kurmanji (in the south east),Arabic and Zazaki are alsospoken.
Afghanistan Pashto and Dari – are bothofficial and most widely spoken.The government has alsorecognised five other languagesfor their regional importance:Hazaragi, Uzbek, Turkmen,Balochi,andPashayi.
Pakistan Urdu is the national languageand English is the officiallanguage.Inaddition,Punjabiisspoken in the province ofPunjab.Sindhiismainlyspokenin theprovinceof Sind.Pashtuis spoken in North-WestFrontier Province (NWFP) andBalochi: Mainly spoken in theprovinceofBaluchistan.
Somalia SomaliandArabicaretheofficiallanguages.
Lebanon Arabicisthenationallanguage,and French and English arewildlyspoken.
Sudan Sudanese Arabic and along withthe tribal languages are spokenincludingNubian language in thefar north spoken by Nubians ofMahas,DongolaandHalfa.
Iran Persian is the official languageand is spoken by 53% of thepopulation.
Azerbaijani and other Turkicdialects, Kurdish, Gilaki andMazandarani, Luri, Arabic andBalochi2%arealsospoken.
SouthSudan The official language is English.The indigenous languages withthe most speakers are Dinka,Nuer,Bari,andZande.
Ethiopia
Amharic (official), Oromo,Somali and Tigrinya are thewidelyspokenlanguages.
20
InItaly,Sweden,Austria,andFrance–countrieswithhighasylumclaimsinEurope–refugeesmust
showproofofC1levellanguageproficiencyinItalian,Sweden,Austrian-GermanandFrenchaspart
oftheadmissionsprocess.16Atthisadvancedproficiencylevel,oneshouldbeableto:
• Understandawiderangeofmoredemanding,longertexts,andrecogniseimplicitmeaninginthem;
• Expresshim/herselffluentlyandspontaneouslywithoutmuchobvioussearchingfortherightexpression;
• Uselanguageflexiblyandeffectivelyforsocial,academicandprofessionalpurposes.He/shecanproduceclear,well-structured,detailedtextoncomplexsubjects,showingcorrectuseoforganisationalpatterns,connectorsandcohesivedevices(CEFR,2018;BritishCouncil,2018).
Language also limits higher education access in an indirect manner. Language is essential for
integrationandtothebuildingofsocialnetworks,whicharekeysourcesof informationaboutthe
educationsysteminthehostcountry(Watkins,2012).
2d.Informationbarrier
Anotherbarrierfacedbyrefugeesisa lackofknowledgeorunderstandingofthehighereducation
system in their host country. This can be exacerbated by a lack of availability of information and
counselling services. This is particularly true for the 85% refugees in developing nations (UNHCR,
2018b;Watenaughetal.,2013).
WhilenumerousnewinitiativesmakeuseoftheInternettodisseminateinformationwidely,limited
Internet access, particularly in rural settings and developing countries, represents a significant
barriertothisapproach.Forexample,KirkandSherab(2016)reportthatonly2.5%ofSyrianyouth
in Jordanhadaccessed the Jami3til Initiativeonlinedatabaseoffered inArabicbyUNESCO in July
2015.CreaandSparnon(2017)alsofindthatlackofaccesstotechnologyandtheInternet,aswellas
cultural and linguistic mismatches between Western-oriented online education and students’
backgrounds, present hurdles to students attempting to access higher education in developing
countries.
16C1isthefifthlevelintheCommonEuropeanFrameworkofReference(CEFR).C2isconsideredfullmastery.
21
2e.Prohibitivecostofhighereducation
The cost of higher education is a barrier to higher education access. Tuition fees vary widely by
country, and by type of institution - such as public or private and/or diploma or degree granting
institutions.Inthe2013/2014AY,EnglandandUnitedStates,withfeesof8,000USD/year,hadthe
highesttuitionratesforpublictertiaryinstitutions(OECD,2016). Insomecountries,suchasBrazil,
Denmark, and Finland, there are no tuition fees. However, the cost of higher education extends
beyond tuition. The additional costs include studymaterials, health insurance and food over the
periodofstudy.Thus,evenwhentherearenotuitionfees,therearestillothercoststoconsider.
SelectedcountriestakenfromUNHCRdataonthe2017DAFIscholarshipcostsshowlargevariability
inhighereducationcostsacrosssub-SaharanAfrica(seeTable3).WhileEthiopiahadascholarship
costof685USD,Botswana’swas6,548USD.Ethiopia’sgovernmentsubsidisestuitionforrefugees,
whileBotswana,asaresultofresourceconstraints,doesnotdoso(UNHCR,2018b).
Table3.
DAFIProgrammeinSub-SaharanAfrica(SelectedCountries)
Country Female Male BudgetAvg.scholarship
cost(USD)
Benin 2 2 20,775 4,155
Botswana 4 4 52,383 6,548
Cameroon 45 105 329,966 2,200
Chad 45 91 382,174 2,810
Ethiopia 182 547 499,096 685
Niger 1 8 42,653 4,739
SouthAfrica 60 82 614,736 4,329
Uganda 151 287 818,471 1,869Note.Adaptedfrom“TheOtherOnePerCent.RefugeeStudentsinHigherEducation:DAFIAnnualReport2017”byUNHCR(2018b),p.28.
Tuitionfeesalsodifferwidelybystudents’residencystatus.Publicinstitutionsdifferentiatebetween
lower ‘home fees’ for citizens and permanent residents and higher ‘international fees’ for other
students.Certaincountrieswaivetuitionfeesforrefugees,whileothercountriesofferthehomefee
tuitionrate,andothersconsiderrefugeesasinternationalstudents.Forexample,Watenpaughetal.
(2013)foundthattheUniversityofJordan(apublicHEI)chargedrefugeesforeignstudentfeesthat
22
made the school nearly as expensive as private universities in Jordan. Meanwhile, Coffie (2014)
foundthatrefugeesinGhanaianuniversitiespaidtuitionfeesthatwereapproximatelydoublethat
ofdomesticstudents.17
Notonlytheactualcost,buttheopportunitycostofhighereducationforrefugeesmustalsobe
considered. Inaddition to thepotentialdebt, losingoutonearningsover the fouryearsof study,
couldbeapricethatrefugeesconsidertoohightopayfortheremotebenefitsoffutureearnings.
This is compounded by findings that show that many refugees feel an immense pressure to
financially support their families and feel an urgency to work. Even those whomanage to enter
higher education studies oftenwork part-time or even full-time, in order to send remittances to
supportsiblings,parentsandotherswhoremaininrefugeorasylumcontexts(Ferede,2014).
2f.Hostcountrylimitedresourcestoexpandhighereducationtorefugees
Eighty-fivepercentofrefugeesarehostedindevelopingregions.Inmid-2017,refugeesfromSouth
Sudan were hosted in the world’s least developed countries – including Sudan, Uganda, Kenya,
DemocraticRepublicofCongo,TheCentralAfricanRepublic,andEthiopia(UNHCR,2018b).
Developing countries that struggle to educate their own citizens with scarce resources can be
overwhelmed.Theymaynothavethemeanstoabsorbrefugeesintheirhighereducationsystems.
In many countries in the Global South hosting refugees, there are limited numbers of available
institutions,facultyandresources(suchaslibrarybooks,computers,anddesks).
Ofallcountries,Turkeyshelteredthegreatestnumberofrefugees,hosting3.5millionbymid-2017,
followed by Pakistan (1.4 million), Lebanon (998,900), Iran (979,400), Germany (970,400),
Bangladesh(932,200)andSudan(906,600).DatafromUNESCOInstituteofStatistics(UIS)identifies
educationexpendituresinthetopfiverefugeehostingcountries(seeTable4).
17Moreover,asylumseekerswhoarestillintheprocessofreceivingadecisionontheirasylumclaimareoftenconsideredtobeinternationalstudentsandwouldneedtopayinternationalfees.
23
Table4.
PercentageofEducationExpenditureofTotalGovernmentSpendinginTopRefugeeHostingCountries(VariedYears)
Hostcountry %EducationExpenditure
Turkey 13.13(2014)
Pakistan 12.5(2017)
Lebanon 8.58(2013)
Iran 19.3(2016)
Germany 11.1(2014)
Note:“%EducationExpenditure”reportedaspercentoftotalgovernmentspending,datafromUIS(2018).
EducationspendingbypercentageofgovernmentexpenditureinPakistanislargerthaninGermany.
However, the education budget of the country is smaller. Thus, when we look at spending per
student at the tertiary level, Pakistan at (1,367.26 USD) spendsmuch less than Germany (17,148
USD)(UIS,2018).
2g.LegislativeChallenges
Institutional ordinances and regulations can make it difficult for higher education institutions to
provide access and support for refugees. For example, a 2016 survey conducted by the Swedish
Council for Higher Education (2016) identified a variety of legislative and ordinance barriers as
limitingandrestrictive18forrefugees’accesstohighereducationinSweden.Afewarenotedhere:
1. Accessandeligibility
o Language:Thereisarequirementofstep3Swedishforeligibility,eventhoughitmaynotbenecessaryforthesubject
2. Tuitiono HigherEducationOrdinanceprohibitsasylum-seekers’righttoparticipateinfreehigher
education
3. Recognition/validationandpriorlearningo Therulesforpriorlearningareunclear
24
4. Lackofresources,contracteducation,otherformsoffunding
o TherulesaboutwhichorganisationsmayfundeducationarerestrictiveOtherlegislationinthehostcountrycanexacerbatemanyofthebarriersrefugeesfaceinaccessing
HEIs. For instance, laws that prevent refugees from working hinder their ability to finance their
education.Inaddition,legislationthatrestrictsfreedomofentryandexitfromrefugeecampslimits
refugees’ access to services to assist with application processes, and their ability to attend, if
accepted(Coffie,2014;Watenaughetal.,2013;Zeus,2011).
2h.Insecurityinhostcountries
Insecure conditions of violent conflict, personal safety or authoritarian regimes in host countries
represent a challenge to refugees’ access to higher education. Coffie (2014) found security
constraints affecting refugees and nationals alike in Guinea to be the main factor resulting in
Liberian refugees’more limited access to higher education in Guinea than in Ghana. In addition,
DahyaandDryden-Peterson(2017)describehowsexualassaultagainstwomen inDadaabrefugee
camp inNorthernKenyadecreasewomen’s freedomofmovement and, therefore, their ability to
access higher education opportunities. Moreover, the 2007 DAFI report also cited ‘deteriorating
situations’ in fiveWestAfricancountriesas the reason for closing theseDAFIprogrammes,as the
opportunities for refugee students to attendHEIs ‘became almost inexistent’ (p. 25). Indeed, the
DAFI policy and guidelines indicate that when UNHCR selects host countries to offer DAFI
scholarships, theyconsider “anenvironmentofpolitical stability”among their criteria, stating, ‘an
environment of political stability is a prerequisite for successful DAFI implementation’ (UNHCR,
2009,p.11).
25
PARTIII:INCENTIVESANDPROGRAMMESThis section examines various initiatives that have been developed in order to address the
challengesandbarrierstorefugees’accesstohighereducation.
3a.Alternativecredentialevaluationschemes
As indicated, missing education credentials and/or lack of proof of prior learning has a negative
impacton refugees’ access tohigher education. Establishing a recognitionprocedure for refugees
without suchdocumentation isessential, since it: 1)Providesamethod for institutions toensure
thatapplicantsarequalified;2)Enablesrefugeesandthoseinrefugee-likesituationstoprovetheir
competenciesandpreparednessforhighereducation.
Internationalandregionalconventionsestablishvariousnations’commitmenttotherecognitionof
qualifications,withspecificclausesthataddressthoseinrefugee-likesituations,including:
• Article7oftheRevisedConventionontheRecognitionofQualificationsconcerningHigherEducationintheEuropeanRegion(CouncilofEurope,1997);
• Article7oftheAsia-PacificRegionalConventionontheRecognitionofQualificationsinHigherEducation(UNESCO,2011);
• ArticleIII.2,paragraph5,oftheRevisedConventionontheRecognitionofStudies,Certificates,Diplomas,DegreesandOtherAcademicQualificationsinHigherEducationinAfricanStates(UNESCO,12December2014);
• TheDjiboutiDeclarationonRegionalConferenceonRefugeeEducationinIGADMemberStates(IntergovernmentalAuthorityonDevelopment,2017)andtheNairobiDeclaration(UNESCO,2018)inwhichAfricanStatescommittedtoestablishingcertificationrecognitionschemes,particularlyhighlightinginclusionofrefugeesandreturnees;
• ThelaunchofUNESCO’sGlobalConventionprojectadvocatingforafairandjustevaluationprocessthatplacestheburdenofproofontherecognitionauthority,andaimstobuildtheevaluationcapacityofinstitutions.
In addition to these conventions, organizations and higher education institutions worldwide are
introducingalternativerecognitionprocedurestomaketheprocessmoresystematised,streamlined
andconsistent.
26
InEurope,ENIC-NARIC19recommendsafairandtransparentevaluationprocessandhasalsosetup
support for institutions that require assistancewith the credential evaluationprocess. Part of the
additionalstepsinvalidatingpriorknowledgeinclude:
• Examinationstoallowrefugeestodemonstrateknowledge,competenciesandskills;• Aninterviewwithacommitteeofexpertsforadditionalcontextualinformation;• Swornstatementsbyapplicants.
The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) has developed a two-step
processtoalternativecredentialing.Thefirstphaseisthecreationofaneducationalportfoliowith
supportingevidence.Thesecondincludesanevaluationinterview.NOKUTdevelopedthisprocessby
firstconductingapilotin2004withOsloUniversityCollegeandNarvikUniversityCollegewherethey
evaluated 20 candidates from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and the former Yugoslavia, all with
engineeringbackgrounds.Outofthese20,fourcandidatesreceivedrecognitionoftheirdegreesas
equivalent to a three-year Norwegian bachelor’s degree, 12 candidates received recognition as
having one or two years of higher education, and four did not receive any recognition of higher
education(Egner,2015).
BasedonasuccessfulpilotofNOKUT’salternativequalificationsassessmentprocess,theCouncilof
Europehas launched the EuropeanQualificationsPassport forRefugeesProject. Partners include
UNHCR, the Greek Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs, the Italian Ministry of
Education,UniversitiesandResearch, theConferenceofUniversityRectorsof Italy, theNorwegian
Ministry of Education and Research, and qualification recognition centres in Armenia, Canada,
France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and theUK. The passport,while not legally
binding,isastandardisedandstructureddocumentthatidentifiesskillsetsandqualificationsmeant
toassistrefugeestoaccesshighereducationandemployment.
19ENIC:EuropeanNetworkofInformationCentresintheEuropeanRegionNARIC:NationalAcademicRecognitionInformationCentresintheEuropeanUnion
27
3b.Hostlanguage-learninginitiatives
Language proficiency is needed not only for successful integration into host societies but also to
access educational opportunities. The following are a few examples of initiatives aimed at
addressingthelanguagebarriertohighereducationaccess.
Since2016, through itsERASMUS+programme, theEuropeanCommissionhas supported100,000
refugeestoaccessOnlineLinguisticSupport(OLS).Itprovidestraininginavarietyoflanguagesand
isfreeofcost.
Babbel,aprivatecompany,providesonlinelanguagelessons.Since2016,ithaspartneredwiththe
Senate of Berlin, Kiron Open Higher Education and Hoffnungsträger Foundation to facilitate
language learning courses by providing €1million worth of language courses to various refugee-
focused projects. Since the majority of refugees with whom they work have at least a basic
knowledge of either English or French, the courses in German are actually provided in English or
French,ratherthanArabic.Babbelalsotrainsvolunteerlanguageteachersforface-tofacelessonsat
refugeecentres.
Since 2015, the University of Grenoble has provided one-month trainings in French language to
refugees and asylum seekers settled or accommodated in the region through its ‘Passerelle
Solidarité’(SolidarityLink).Thisfour-monthtrainingisforrefugeesandasylumseekerswhowantto
continuetheirstudiesinFranceandincludesFrenchclasses,Frenchcultureclassesandmethodology
classes.ThetrainingisdesignedtohelpstudentsenterahighereducationprogrammeinGrenoble
oranywhereelseinFrance.
3c.Scholarshipschemes
Scholarshipsaimtoaddressthecostofhighereducation.Sincethemajorityofrefugeesarehosted
in developing countries, scholarship initiatives for this vulnerable group are part of achieving this
28
target.20 Scholarships either partially or fully address the cost of higher education by covering
tuition,relatedcostsorboth.Ingeneral,scholarshipscanbegroupedunderfourcategories:
1.SCHOLARSHIPSTHATTARGETREFUGEESINSIDECOUNTRYOFFIRSTASYLUM
Thesescholarshipsareintendedforrefugeesstudyinginthecountryoffirstasylum.Assuch,nearly
all of these scholarships are countries in the Global South, where the majority of refugees are
hosted. Theoldest, andmostoftenusedmodel forother scholarshipsproviders, isUNHCR’sDAFI
programme.
DAFI Programme21
For 25 years, UNHCR and the German Government have offered the Albert Einstein Deutsche
AkademischeFlüchtlingsinitiative(DAFI)scholarshipprogramme,intendedtoassistrefugees’access
to higher education. Since its launch in 1992, the DAFI programme has assisted 14,000 young
refugees in 50 countries, the vastmajority ofwhich are in theGlobal South. In 2017 alone, the
DAFI programme supported over 6,700 studentswho studied in 720 institutions (see Table 5 for
detailsoftheDAFIprogrammefrom2015-2017).
The DAFI programme awards scholarships through a selection process that begins with widely
publicised calls for applications. In 2017, approximately 36% of applicants were shortlisted and
interviewedbyamulti-partnerselectionpanel.Ofthose,60%wereofferedaDAFIscholarship.
In 31 of the 50DAFI countries, refugees have the same access conditions as nationals such as in
Botswana,Cameroon,Chad,Ecuador, the IslamicRepublicof Iran,Mozambique,Nigeria, Tanzania
andZambia.UNHCRnegotiateswithgovernments forreducedfees forrefugeestudents, including
DAFI scholars, as it has successfully done in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sudan, and Yemen. Other times,
20Thehighcostofhighereducation,particularlyaffectingyouthindevelopingcountries,isreceivingincreasedattentioninglobaleducationplanning.SDG4,target4.baimsto,by2020‘substantiallyexpandgloballythenumberofscholarshipsavailabletodevelopingcountries,inparticularleastdevelopedcountries,smallislanddevelopingStatesandAfricancountries,forenrolmentinhighereducation,includingvocationaltrainingandinformationandcommunicationstechnology,technical,engineeringandscientificprogrammes,indevelopedcountriesandotherdevelopingcountries.’21ThetextandtablearebasedonUNHCR’spublication,TheOtherOnePerCent.RefugeeStudentsinHigherEducation:DAFIAnnualReport2017.http://www.unhcr.org/publications/education/5bc4affc4/other-percent-refugee-students-higher-education-dafi-annual-report-2017.html
29
specific arrangements are made. For instance, in 2017 the UNHCR and the Ministry of Higher
EducationinIraqagreedthatDAFIstudentsundertaking5-yearcourses, includingmedicine,would
haveonetuition-freeyear.
TheDAFIprogrammeextendsbeyondfinancialsupport.Thescholarshipschemecoverstuitionand
related study costs such as accommodation, food, fees and subsistence allowances.Moreover, it
includes remedial and language support and support to aid retention, such as psychosocial
counselling.
In2016,UNHCRandtheDAAD(GermanAcademicExchangeService)decidedtocooperateglobally
tofacilitateaccessto,orcontinuationof,highereducationstudiesinthefiveSyriancrisiscountries
Turkey,Lebanon,Jordan,IraqandEgypt.Doingso,thetwoorganisationslinkedtheresourcesoftwo
projects:theDAFIprogrammewhichfocusesonbachelor’sdegreestudiesandtheHOPESprojectof
theDAADwithitsconsortiumpartners,whichfocusesonmaster’sdegrees.
30
Table5.
DAFIGlobaloverviewofdevelopments2015-2017
Year 2015 2016 2017
Numberofstudents 2,321 4,652 6,723
Percentfemale 42% 44% 41%
Graduated 364 449 547
Newlyadmitted 678 2,718 2,582
#countriesofstudy 40 37 50
Top5countriesofstudy
297Ethiopia232Iran187Uganda146Kenya143Pakistan
825Turkey512Ethiopia428Iran358Lebanon293Egypt
818Turkey729Ethiopia721Jordan490Pakistan438Uganda
Top5countriesoforigin
428Afghanistan
363Somalia
326SyrianArab Republic
277DRoftheCongo
179Sudan
1,790SyrianArab Republic
712Afghanistan
454Somalia
325DRoftheCongo
311Sudan
2,528SyrianArab Republic
942Afghanistan
667Somalia
475SouthSudan
404Sudan
Topfieldsofstudy 436Commercialand Businessadministration
373Medicalandhealth- relatedscience
247Socialand behaviouralsciences
206Engineering
186Educationscience andteachertraining
845Medicalandhealth-relatedscience
807Engineering
800Commercialand Businessadministration
448Socialandbehaviouralsciences
317Humanities
1,271Medicaland health-relatedscience
1,217Commercialand Businessadministration
962Engineering
780Socialand behaviouralsciences
542Humanities
31
2.SCHOLARSHIPSFORREFUGEESPROVIDEDBYHIGHEREDUCATIONINSTITUTIONS
Many institutions support refugees directly. For instance, the UNHCR-Refugee Higher Education
Program(RHEP)supportsrefugeesinJapantocompleteafour-yearundergraduatedegreeateight
institutionsinthecountry.Students'tuitionfeesandotherstudyexpensesarefundeddirectlyby
theuniversitieswhomayalsoofferadditionalstipends(UNHCR,2018b).
3.SCHOLARSHIPSSUPPORTINGFEMALEREFUGEES
In Australia, Claudette Elaro Refugee Women’s Scholarship accepts applications from female
studentsofrefugeebackgroundslivinginAustraliaforfiveyearsorless.Thesewomenmustreside
inNewSouthWales,andattendaninstitutionapprovedbySettlementServicesofAustralia.
Anotherscholarshipforfemalestudents,butthatisviableworldwide,istheInternationalFederation
of UniversityWomen’s Hegg Hoffet Fund for DisplacedWomen. It is offered to female graduate
students(andinspecialcases,undergraduatefemales)whohavebeendisplacedasaresultofwar,
political upheaval or other serious emergencies, including refugees. GWI’s Hegg Hoffet Fund also
providesshort-termgrantsforrefreshercoursesforre-entryintothecandidates’professionalfield
(or if that is not possible, training courses leading to some other employment), and for language
trainingandothercoursestoassistwithintegrationintotheirnewcountries.Inadditiontofinancial
assistance,GWI’snationalandlocalgroupsalsoproviderefugeeswithmoralsupporttohelpthem
toadjusttolifeinadifferentcountry.
4.SCHOLARSHIPSFORSYRIANREFUGEES
Bymid-2015,overfourmillionSyriansfledthecountry.Manyscholarshipshavebeenestablishedto
support Syrian refugees access higher education. For instance, the Institute of International
Education(IIE)hascompliedaSyriaConsortiumforHigherEducationinCrisisthatlistshundredsof
colleges and universities worldwide that provide scholarships specifically for Syrian students. In
2016, the EU announced 400 scholarships for Syrian refugees and Japan has accepted 150 Syrian
refugees to their schools (as exchange students). In Canada, universities have partnered with
community-basednon-profitLifelineSyriatoraise27,000CADpertargetedrefugeefamily.Ryerson
University alumni raised 4.5 million CAD through 102 sponsorships that will go on to help 150
refugee families (Ryerson University, 2018). Many of the 80 public institutions in Canada offer
similar initiatives. Furthermore, to increase accessibility to scholarship information, UNESCO
32
launched the Jami3ti Initiative (‘My University’ Initiative) in July 2015 (Kirk & Sherab, 2016). The
Jami3ti InitiativeisanonlinedatabaseinArabicofscholarshipopportunitiesandresourcestohelp
studentsbetterunderstandtheapplicationprocess.Thiswebsiteconsolidatesthewidelydispersed
scholarship information into a single, searchable platform, proving invaluable to Syrian refugee
studentswithapproximately2,000opportunitieslisted.
SCHOLARSHIPCLEARINGHOUSES
Toaidallrefugeeslocatescholarships,severalorganizationsalsoprovideclearinghousethatcompile
opportunitiesforasylum-seekersandrefugees:
UNHCRScholarshipPortal
UNHCR’sTertiaryEducationteamlaunchedascholarshipportalofferingpracticaladvicefor
prospectivestudentsandtechnicaladvicetoscholarship.
TheRefugeeCenter
TheRefugee Center offers listings of scholarships open to refugees and immigrants in theUnited
States.
EuropeanUniversityAssociation’sRefugeeWelcomeMap
By January 2017, EUA Refugees Welcome Map had collected approximately 250 initiatives from
highereducationinstitutionsandrelatedorganisationsin31countries.
StudentActionforRefugees(STAR)
STARlistsscholarshipsviableinhighereducationinstitutionsintheUnitedKingdom.
VINCElist
The VINCE list Includes scholarships with many other initiatives at integrating and supporting
refugeesinavarietyofareas,includingwithhighereducation.
33
3d.Refugeepeer-to-peerinitiatives
Peer-to-peerinitiativesrefertoprogrammesinwhichyouthworktosupportfellowyouthwhoare
similartothem(e.g.countryorregionoforigin)toaccessorpersistinhighereducation.
SYRIANYOUTHEMPOWERMENT
In 2016, four Syrians in thediaspora founded Syrian Youth Empowerment (SYE) tohelpdisplaced
Syrian students continue theirhighereducation.Theorganisationhasaworkingbudgetof12,700
USD over two years with a grant from Blossom Hill Foundation and individual donations. The
organisation supports displaced Syrian students bymentoring them through the institutional and
scholarship application processes. Vetted mentors who are in or have completed their tertiary
education serve asmentors. For the 2018-2019 Academic Year (AY), out of the 36 studentswho
applied to enter universitywith support of SYEmentors, eightwere female.Of the 32whowere
accepted,threedeferred.Outoftheremaining29,23receivedscholarships,whileoneispending(a
differentcycleasatransferstudent).Forthe2018-2019AY,SYE-supportedstudentsreceived10.752
MillionUSDinscholarships(4,032,000USDthefirstyearand6,720,000USDthesecondyear).The
intendedmajorsofthe2018cohortarelistedinTable6.
Table6.Majorsforthe2018-2019SYEEnteringClass
Architecture/InternationalRelationsBehaviouralNeuroscienceChemistryCivilEngineeringComputerScienceComputerScience/Photography
ComputerScience/TheoreticalphysicsComputerScience/ArtificialIntelligenceComputerScience/InformationTechnologyManagementEngineering/BusinessPhysicsPolitics/MarketingPre-medBiologySociologySoftwareEngineer/ComputerScience
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3e.Onlineandblendedhighereducationforrefugees
CONNECTEDLEARNINGINCRISISCONSORTIUM
TheConnectedLearninginCrisisConsortium(CLCC)isanetworkofuniversities,NGOs,andblended
learningprovidersthatcombinesonlineandface-to-faceinstructiontoofferlearningprogrammesto
refugees in their home environments. By 2017 over 7,000 students had participated in the CLCC
programmes(UNHCR,2018b).
UNHCR and the CLCC have identified blended learning as important to bringing learning
opportunitiestorefugeesandareworkingonunderstandinghowaccesstohighereducationcould
be scaled up through online and blended learning especially in low-resource environments. The
consortiumworks in part by identifying innovativemethods and disseminating good practices to
meetthedemandforhighereducationforrefugees.
Tothisend,theCLCChasdevelopedaQualityGuidelinesPlaybook thatprovidesrichresourceson
the provision of connected learning, including case studies. The intention of this Playbook is to
improve future programme designs and implementation by sharing knowledge of the types of
blended learningprogrammesthatCLCCmembershave implementedsincetheearly2000s (CLCC,
2017).
Table7.
ConnectedLearninginCrisisConsortiumMembers(2017)
• AustralianCatholicUniversity• ArizonaStateUniversity• Centreity• INASP• InstituteforInternationalEducation• JesuitRefugeeService• JesuitWorldwideLearning• KenyattaUniversity• Kepler• Kiron• MIT• Mosaik
• OpenUniversityUK• OpeningUniversityforRefugees• PurdueUniversity• SouthernNewHampshireUniversity• UNHCR• UniversityofBritishColumbia• UniversityofGeneva-InZone• UniversityofNairobi• University of Ottawa – Community
MobilisationinCrisis• WorldUniversityServiceofCanada• YorkUniversity
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BORDERLESSHIGHEREDUCATIONFORREFUGEES
BorderlessHigherEducationforRefugees (BHER)Project isadevelopment initiativehousedat the
CentreforRefugeeStudiesatYorkUniversitythatprovidesuniversityprogrammestorefugeesand
localhoststudentsinDadaabKenyausingablendedlearningmodel.TheBHERconsortiumincludes
fivepartners:KenyattaUniversity,MoiUniversity,UniversityofBritishColumbia,YorkUniversityand
WindleInternationalKenya.
In 2010-2012, the BHER model was designed through research grants from Social Sciences and
HumanitiesResearchCouncilofCanadaandMasterCardFoundation.Sinceitslaunchin2013,ithas
receivedfundingfromGlobalAffairsCanada,OpenSocietyFoundations,UNHCRKenyaandprivate
donations.
BHER coordinates with Canadian and Kenyan universities to offer internationally recognised and
accreditedacademicprogrammesat the levelof certificate,diplomasanddegrees to refugeeand
localpopulations;italsosupportsonsiteandonlineprogrammedeliverythroughtheBHERLearning
Centre located in Dadaab. The delivery of one certificate and two diploma programmes are in
teacher education at the primary and secondary level and six degree programmes in education,
healthandliberalarts.
Credit transfer among various university programmes allows for “stackable” credentials. Students
are able to earn a certificate or diploma at each level of study, incrementally building towards
earningadegree.Since2013,a totalof256students (56 female)havecompleted their certificate
anddiploma studies in educationat theprimary and secondary level. Since September2016, 107
studentsofCohort1haveengagedinoneofthefourundergraduatedegreesineducation,healthor
geographyofferedbyYorkUniversity,KenyattaUniversityorMoiUniversity,with80nowretained.
About 90%of these students (ofwhom19% arewomen) are on track to graduate by the end of
2018.
InSeptember2017,86studentsofCohort2startedstudiesinoneofthedegreeprogrammesinthe
educationfieldofferedbyYorkUniversityorKenyattaUniversitywith77nowretained.About80%
of these students (of whom 12% female) plan to graduate from one of the programmes by
December 2019 after the completion of the current grant from the Government of Canada. The
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genderbreakdownoftheprogrammeis36.7%femalesince1978andwas45%femaleforthe2017-
2018AY.Theprogrammeisaimingfor50%femaleparticipationnextyear.
KIRONOPENHIGHEREDUCATION
Kiron Open Higher Education is a German-based non-profit organisation that has two strands of
delivering courses. In one strand, refugees who lack documents or other requirements to enter
higher education in their host country can take Kiron designed Massively Open Online Courses
(MOOCs) on platforms such as Coursera, Edx, FUNorOpen Classrooms. Kiron calls these courses
‘micro credentials.’ In addition, Kiron includes language and preparatory courses to complete the
onlinecourses.
In the second strand, students who have the required documents and language to enter higher
educationinstitutionsareabletoparticipate.Inthiscase,Kironprovidesapplicationsupportandthe
transfer of 60 Kiron credits to the course of studywith partner universities. The programme also
providesbuddyprogrammes,mentorship,counsellingandstudentguidance.In2017,Kironheldits
pilotphaseofguidingstudentsthroughtheapplicationprocess.
In2018,therewere3,200studentsonKironcampuses,with56universitypartnersineightcountries
(see Table 8). Disciplines are limited to business, economics, computer science, mechanical
engineering, social work and political science. Kiron is currently developing two study tracks for
students in Jordan and Lebanon where they can transfer to partner universities to study for a
bachelor’sdegreeincomputerscienceorbusiness&economics.
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Table8.KironStudentDemographics(2018)NumberofStudents Total Male Female
3,300 2,739(83%) 561(17%)Majors
BusinessandEconomics 30.00% 28.73% 36.08%ComputerScience 36.74% 38.88% 26.46%MechanicalEngineering 9.15% 10.12% 4.64%PoliticalScience 10.51% 10.87% 8.93%SocialWork 13.60% 11.41% 23.88%
CountryofResidence Germany 38.31%
Turkey 12.71% Jordan 9.10% Indonesia 6.33% Kenya 5.70% France 5.67% Other 22.19%
CountryofOrigin SyrianArabRepublic 41.43% Afghanistan 9.21% Somalia 6.06% Iraq 3.56% Sudan 3.56%Note.Databycountryoforiginandresidencebygenderwasnotmadeavailable.
3f.Initiativessupportingacademicsinneedofrefuge
Academicswhoareunder threathavealsobecomeakey concernofhighereducation.Beloware
twoprogrammesthatsupportthispopulationgroup.Byprotectingacademicsfromregionsofcrisis,
theseprogrammescanallowforHEIstoberestoredtofunctional levelswheninstructorsarelater
abletoreturntotheirhomeinstitutions.SustainingandrestoringHEIsinconflict-affectedregionsis
keytoensuringaccesstohighereducationforyouthwhoarecurrentlyrefugeesorasylumseekers
(Barakat&Milton,2015).
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SCHOLARSATRISK
Scholars atRisk (SAR)beganat theUniversityofChicagoin1999and launched itsnetworkwitha
majorinternationalconferenceinJune2000.SincethenScholarsatRiskhasprovidedsanctuaryand
assistancetomorethan300academicseachyear.Itprotectsthesescholarsbyarrangingtemporary
research and teaching positions at institutions in their network. A key advocate of academic
freedom,italsoinvestigatesandspeaksoutagainstattacksonhighereducationcommunities.
In2002,SARpartneredwithIIEandtheIIEScholarRescueFund.TheFundprovidedfellowshipsto
SARscholarsfacinggravethreatssothattheymayescapedangerousconditionsandcontinuetheir
academicworkinsafety.
CARA
Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) is a UK based organisation that provides urgent support to
academicsatrisk,thoseforcedintoexile,andthoseintheirhomecountrybutindanger.CARAisthe
leadingorganisationdoingthisworkinEurope.Itisuniqueinitsfocusonhelpingthosewhoarestill
in immediate danger, rather than already in exile, and in providing 2- or 3-year award packages,
rather than short stipends. Funding is provided by a number of foundations, such as Harbour
Foundation and the Murdoch charitable trust; the institutions also contribute in kind and offer
servicesprobono.
Over 115universities make up the CARA UK Universities Network, including Cardiff University,
University of Cambridge, University of Essex, University of London, Glasgow School of Art, and
UniversityofLiverpool.
In 2006, CARA launched the Iraq Programme (2006-2011) through its office in Amman, Jordan. It
undertookcooperationactivitiesdesignedtohelprebuildIraqiresearchandteachingcapacitiesby
bringingacademics inIraqtogetherwiththoseinJordanandelsewhere,withtheircounterparts in
theUK.
In 2009, the Zimbabwe Programme became CARA’s second regional programme, created in
responsetoan increaseofacademics fleeingZimbabwe,amidreportsofadramaticdecline inthe
quality of higher education. The programme offered grants and fellowships to pay for vital
39
equipment and supplies, and in 2012 established a ‘Virtual Lecture Hall’ at the University of
ZimbabwethatallowedZimbabweanacademicsinexileandotherstoconnectinrealtime.
In2016CARA launched itsSyriaProgramme inorder toprovidesupport toacademicsaffectedby
theSyriacrisiswithSyrianacademicsinexile,inTurkey,Lebanon.Inthe2016/17‘pilotphase’,with
theactiveparticipationofUK,Turkishandotheruniversities,CARAorganisedworkshops inTurkey
on English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and Academic Skills Development (ASD), to lay the
foundations for futureresearchcollaborations. The firstSyriaProgrammeFellowswerehostedby
UK universities on short-term research visits, and UK and Syrian academics and others worked
togetheronresearchtohelpestablishthetruestateofhighereducationinSyria,beforeandsince
2011, togetabetter senseofhowexiledSyrianacademics couldbehelped toprepare to return,
whenitissafetodoso.
An 18-month second phase of the programmewas launched in late 2017 and includes EAP, ASD,
Research IncubationVisits andaCARA-CommissionedResearchProject– supplementedby anew
fifth strand, a research funding initiative.The aim of the CARA Syria Programme is to nurture
importantdisciplineclusters,whileallowingSyriancolleaguestodevelopaninvaluableinternational
resourceonwhichtodrawinthetaskofrebuildinghighereducation inSyria.Thesecondphase is
funded primarily by a grant of 850,000 USD from the Open Society Foundations and its Higher
EducationSupportProgram.
3g.CapacitybuildinginitiativesoffacultyandstaffatHEIs
Staffand facultyatHEIsalsorequirecapacitybuilding tounderstandhowtobestsupport refugee
learners.Twosuchinitiativesthatfocusoninstitutionalactorsare:
INHERE
The Higher Education Supporting Refugees in Europe (InHere) project is another Erasmus +
programme with the purpose of making access to European institutes of higher educationmore
accessible for refugees and to help them integrate the host communities. The programme was
implemented by the Union of Mediterranean Universities (UNIMED), in partnership with the
European Universities Association (EUA), Campus France, the University of Barcelona and the
UniversityofLaSapienza.
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HIGHEREDUCATIONSUPPORTPROGRAM
OpenSociety’sHigherEducationSupportProgramworkswithgranteesandpartnersinEurope,Asia,
Africa,andtheMiddleEast,theHigherEducationSupportProgramsupportsinnovativeteachingand
research, intellectual freedom, the expansion of marginalised groups’ access to higher education
(includingrefugees),andgoodpracticesinuniversitygovernance.
3h.Resettlementthroughhighereducation
Resettlement into a third country through admission to higher education has gained interest in
recent years. For instance, in 2017 the JICA-managed Japanese Initiative for the Future of Syrian
Refugees(JISR)Programmeadmitted19refugeestudents(formaster’sdegreestudies)fromJordan
and Lebanon into Japan higher education institutions. Since family members can accompany
students,atotalof36personswereadmittedintoJapan.JISRaimstoaccept20studentsperyear
from2017-2021.Theprogramme intends forstudents toreintegrate into theircountriesoforigin,
butiftheyareunable,thereareopportunitiesforresettlement.
EUROPEANRESETTLEMENTNETWORK
Looking for new approaches to resettlement, the European Resettlement Network (ERN) has
examined the feasibility of higher education and scholarships as a complementary pathway of
refugeeadmissiontoEurope.22ERN’sminimumrecommendationsarethatinitiatives:
A.Protectagainstrefoulement;
B.Upholdtherighttoapplyforasylum;
C. Do not jeopardise the safety and security of refugees by undermining their legalstatusandrights;
D.Ensurethatparticipatingstudents’economicneedsaremetduringtheprogramme,includingprotectionagainsthardshipordestitution;
22FormorereadEuropeanResettlementNetwork’s(2018),StudentScholarshipsforRefugees:ExpandingcomplementarypathwaysofadmissiontoEurope.http://www.resettlement.eu/sites/icmc/files/ERN%2B%20Student%20Scholarships%20for%20Refugees%20-%20Expanding%20complementary%20pathways%20of%20admission%20to%20Europe_0.pdf
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E. Ensure that the programme does not adversely affect students’ psychological andsocial wellbeing and that access to health- and psycho-social care is provided forthosewhoneedit;
F.Ensurestudentsarefullyawareandconsenttoalltherelevantdetailsregardingtheeffect on their rights and responsibilities of participation in the scholarshipprogramme, departure from the country of previous asylum, and stay in a newcountry;
G.Ensuretherighttoremainlawfullyinthecountryofscholarshipbeyondtheperiodofstudyintheeventthatreturnorre-entrytothepreviouscountryofasylumortothe country of origin is not possible, including the possibility to convert refugees’visasintoworkorothervisatypes.
(EuropeanResettlementNetwork,2018,p.37)
LIFELINESYRIA
In2015,inthecityofToronto,threeuniversities:UniversityofToronto,YorkUniversity,andOCAD
University joined the Ryerson University-led Lifeline Syria Challenge to offer a response to the
growinghumanitariancrisisinSyria.Sincethen,ithasgrownto248sponsoringgroups.
Whenitlaunched,thisnetworkofToronto-baseduniversitieshadagoaltofacilitatethesponsorship
ofover300SyrianrefugeesacrossCanada, throughtheCanadianPrivateSponsorshipofRefugees
programme.Teamsofvolunteers,includingstudents,staff,faculty,alumniandcommunitymembers
were motivated to raise funds and commit their time to support the refugee families upon
arrival. This initiativehasenabled studentson campus tooffer their skills andknowledge tohelp
facilitate the integration of these resettled families by developing an online portal to share
information and delivering workshops for families on relevant topics. A number of additional
initiatives at these institutions have taken shape, providing opportunities to engagemore of the
Canadianpublic inthewelcomingofformerrefugees,ontheirpathwaytointegrationintheirnew
communities.
In 2018, Lifeline Syria has sponsored 1,074 Syrians through 248 Private SponsorGroups andwith
8,060,600CADinsponsorshipfunds(RyersonUniversity,2018).
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CASESTUDY:WUSCSTUDENTREFUGEEPROGRAMMEDrawing on an original data, this case study outlines how it is possible not only to offer higher
educationaccesstorefugeesbuttoalsoofferapathwaytoresettlementandintegration.23
Since1978,Canada’sWorldUniversityServiceofCanada(WUSC)StudentRefugeeProgramme(SRP)
has resettled over 1,800 refugees from 39 countries of origin into over 80 college and university
campuses. This initiative is described in depth below, as it demonstrates how a programme
supportingrefugees’accesstohighereducationcanutiliseseveralofthestrategiesdescribedinthis
section: host language learning, scholarship schemes, capacity building for higher education
institutions,peer-to-peerinitiatives,andresettlementthroughhighereducation.
TheSRPisprimarilyastudent-drivenendeavourmobilisedbygroupsofstudents,faculty,andstaff
on local university campuses across Canada. Students at Canadian higher education institutions
actively sponsor refugee students through Local Committees / Constituent Groups. These
committeesraise fundsandawareness fortheprogram,engageotherstudents,holdreferendums
throughStudentUnionsandprovidetheday-to-daysocialandacademicsupporttoSRPstudents.
WUSC is able to do this work because of Canada’s Private Refugee Sponsorship Program under
whichseveralgroupsmaysponsorrefugees.OneofthesegroupsisSponsorshipAgreementHolders
(SAH) - incorporated humanitarian, religious, ethnic, community or service organisations with a
specialaffiliationandcontractwiththeMinistryofCitizenshipandImmigrationCanadatosponsor
refugees. Since 1981, WUSC, as a humanitarian organisation, has been one of about 80 such
Sponsorship Agreement Holders who are permitted to sponsor refugees in various local
communities through the use of Constituent Groups.24 WUSC SRP currently accepts applications
fromrefugeesinJordan,Kenya,Lebanon,andMalawi.
23Theinformationinthiscasestudyisadaptedfromalongeranalysis(Ferede,2013)
24InthecaseofWUSC,LocalCommitteesatuniversitiesandcollegesactasitsConstituentGroups,allowingthemtosponsorrefugeesontotheircampuscommunities.Likeotherprivatesponsors,WUSCagreestoberesponsibleforprovidingfinancialandresettlementsupportfortherefugee’sfirstyearinCanada.Ingeneral,theamountoffinancialsupportthatsponsoringgroupsarerequiredtoprovideapproximateslocalsocialassistanceratelevelsthatvarybyregion,byfamilysizeandageofdependents.
43
A2013studyfoundthatthebenefitsforrefugeeyouthincludefindingawayoutofdifficultrefugee
campconditions,havingaccess tohighereducation,developingskills towardsacareerandhaving
the opportunity to become a Canadian citizen (Ferede, 2014). An internal 2007 evaluation report
found that sponsored students also become civically engaged, support development in the home
regions,andtendtojoinsocietygroupsandassociations(WUSC,2007a).
Theprogram’s benefits also extend toCanadian youth.Volunteers tended to vote at higher rates
than the Canadian average and be more politically engaged. They also reported developing
communication,mentoring, andnegotiating skills becauseof their involvement in SRP.Moreover,
teachers in refugee camps indicated that the program had a positive impact on high school
graduationssincestudentspersistedinthehopesofapost-secondaryeducationandeligibilityinto
thehighlycompetitiveWUSCprogram.
Process of Bringing the Student Refugee Program to a Canadian Campus
IttakesapproximatelytwoyearsofplanningandfundraisingforaLocalCommitteetoadvancefrom
expressinginterestinsponsoringarefugeetohavingthemarriveontheircampus.Fromtheonset,
WUSCheadofficesupportsLocalCommittees intheirsponsorshipeffortsbyprovidingprocedural,
promotionalandfundraisingguidancethroughbookletsandpostedonlinetextandvideoresources.
During this planningphase, students are strongly advised to involve faculty or staff as advisors in
order to ‘ensure long-term sustainability’. In addition, Local Committees need to also engage and
developstrongrelationshipswithvariousuniversitydepartmentsandoffices,suchastheAdmissions
Office, President’s Office, International Student’s Office and the Students’ Union. During the
implementationphase,theseofficesplayakeyroleintheadmissionsprocessofrefugeeapplicants,
in facilitating institutional waivers on tuition and housing and providing assistance with
documentation.Sincethesupportofinstitutionalleadershipandstaffiscrucialtothesuccessofthe
program on a particular campus, Local Committees spend initial conversations explaining the
program,gauginginterestandbuildingtrust.Iftheyhaveuniversitysupport,LocalCommitteesthen
conductcampus-wideandcommunityawarenesseventstopromotetheplightofrefugeesandthe
significanceoftheprogram.
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LocalCommitteesareresponsible forraisingthefundsneededforthesponsorshipofonerefugee
student for a minimum of 12 months. Using a sample budget set by WUSC as a guideline
(approximately 20,000 - 30,000 CAD per refugee student), Local Committeemembers first assess
their financial capacity before developing a fundraising strategy. This usually includes holding
referendumsthroughtheStudentUnionwherethestudentbodyvotesonproposedtuitionlevies–
mandatory fees - that will go toward the cost of sponsorship. Sometimes, pending on faculty
support, members can also make an appeal for faculty levies or payroll deductions. Successful
acquisition ofwaivers on tuition, residence,meal plans, and textbooks through various university
offices, can reduce the overall cost. Committees may also approach off-campus individuals,
businesses,andorganisationsforcashorin-kinddonationstowarditemssuchasclothes,bicyclesor
computersforthesponsoredstudent.Finally,afterraisingawareness,engagingtherequiredparties,
andsecuringthenecessaryfunding,thecampusLocalCommitteeisreadytosubmitasponsorship
plantoWUSC.
Theprogrammehas tremendous variationat the institution level. Someuniversities are seasoned
sponsors, while others are new. For instance, Local Committees at University of Alberta have
sponsored students since 1988. Meanwhile, the first refugee student was not sponsored onto
University of Ontario’s Institute of Technology until 2012. Tuition levy support also differs
significantly.Data from2010-2011 indicatesaper-student levyof15.00CADatAlgomaUniversity
but1.00CADatMcGillUniversity.Yetbecauseofthelargedifferenceinthenumberofstudentswho
attend these institutions, Algoma’s Local Committee raised 15,145 CAD from levies while McGill
raised30,000CAD.ThemajorityofLocalCommitteessponsoronestudentperyear.Others,suchas
those at theUniversity of British Columbia and Dalhousie, sponsormultiple students annually. In
addition,most refugeeyouthare financially supported for12-months,while thoseatahandfulof
institutions,suchasSimonFraserandWilfredLaurier,aresupportedovermultipleyears.According
toSeniorProgramOfficers,strongsupportfromuniversityleadershipandLocalCommittees’success
withsecuringsustainablefunding,accountforthesedifferences.
The Selection, Admission, and Arrival of Refugee Students
The majority of the 1,216 youth sponsored from WUSC from 1978-2011 originate from African
countries (over 85%). Surges in the countries of origin of sponsored students tend to correspond