UN agencies launch policy paper to enhance refugee access to HE

The UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO) and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have developed 15 evidence-based recommendations for facilitating refugee access to host countries’ higher education institutions.

These measures were outlined in a policy paper entitled “Refugees’ Access to Higher Education in their Host Countries: Overcoming the ‘super-disadvantage’”.

The IIEP-UNESCO/UNHCR policy paper was launched at a workshop* held on 19 May at the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference – WHEC2022. The conference, “Reinventing Higher Education for a Sustainable Future”, is taking place in Barcelona in Spain from 18-20 May.



Michaela Martin, the lead author and a programme specialist at IIEP-UNESCO, told University World News: “With a view to identifying inclusive policies and good practices to respond to the many challenges refugee youth faces to access higher education in their host countries, the policy paper presents inclusive policies and good practices from six countries.”

The six countries are France, Ethiopia, Egypt, Germany, Norway and Turkey.

“The paper presents 15 recommendations on how host countries can support the access of refugees to their national systems, arguing strongly for an ‘equality of opportunity approach’ in terms of national policies, and caring measures, at the level of higher education institutions,” Martin added.

According to her, the recommendations are made mainly for national policy-makers and planners, but also for higher education institutions, which share a combined responsibility and whose actions can mutually reinforce each other.

Status of refugees’ access to HE

In 2019, UNHCR and partners formulated an education strategy including an ambitious target that 15% of refugee youth worldwide would be enrolled in higher education by the year 2030 – the ‘15by30 target’.

Achieving the 15by30 target would mean that approximately 500,000 young refugee women and men will have access to higher education in 2030.

However, only 3% of refugees are enrolled worldwide, compared to the global gross enrolment ratio of 40% in 2020. A total of 86% of refugees were hosted in developing countries, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab region.

Double benefits

The IIEP-UNESCO/UNHCR policy paper indicated that “there are considerable direct benefits [from access to higher education] for refugee youth themselves, and also clear advantages for the host countries’ economies and social development, to which refugees contribute”.

“Access to higher education enhances refugees’ motivation to succeed in pre-university education and offers identity and social position, and access to skills development and economic opportunities, including through entrepreneurship, and therefore greatly enhances their social and economic integration and life chances,” the policy paper pointed out.

Challenges facing refugee students

The IIEP-UNESCO/UNHCR policy paper indicated that refugees face many obstacles when trying to access host country higher education systems.

These include host country legal restrictions, for instance on movement or on access to labour markets, information barriers, constraining language requirements, psychosocial and newcomer obstacles, difficulties in getting often incomplete credentials recognised, financial barriers, and physical and connectivity issues.

Together these add up to a ‘super-disadvantage’, which makes access to host country higher education more than difficult, the policy paper stated.

Suggested measures

To deal with these challenges facing refugee students and remove barriers to learning, along with reaching the 15by30 target, the IIEP-UNESCO/UNHCR policy paper suggests a combined set of measures to be adapted by host countries and higher education institutions. These include funding and access requirements, recognition of prior learning, and integration measures for refugee students.

The policy recommends:

• Including access of refugee students in higher education national policy documents.

• Establishing intra-ministerial coordination structures for the facilitation of refugees’ access to host countries’ higher education institutions.

• Adopting an ‘equal opportunities policy’ for refugee access to host countries’ higher education.

• Collecting enrolment information in a standardised, protection-sensitive format to enable the monitoring of refugee participation in host country higher education.

• Making available easily accessible information on national higher education systems, admission formalities, funding opportunities and credential recognition.

• Offering structured opportunities for preparatory courses to allow refugees to obtain student status as soon as possible after arrival in their host country.

• Combining preparatory programmes with opportunities for social integration.

• Providing special support and coaching programmes for women students.

• Offering flexible procedures for credential recognition.

• Offering flexible ‘recognition of prior learning’ policies and procedures that recognise non-formal and informal prior learning though interview-based documentation.

• Recognising credits obtained from higher education institutions at home or in the host country and applying them to further study.

• Offering fee exemptions to refugee students or linking up with international donors to cover tuition fees.

• Providing access for refugees to national (contingency-based) student loan systems to cover their living costs.

• Making available funding for higher education institutions to support refugees.

• Organising and supporting networks of higher education institutions that engage collectively to support refugee students.

* The workshop was titled “Overcoming the ‘Super-disadvantage’: Mitigating access barriers to higher education for refugees”.

University World News is the exclusive media partner for the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference and is providing extensive coverage.