For millions of children across the world, COVID-19 marked the beginning of a totally different era of schooling. Whether in person or online, students across the world experienced a completely new form of school this fall. Students in the U.S. have dealt with new challenges to their education and the exacerbation of existing educational inequalities. Outside of the U.S., we must also consider how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts vulnerable refugees and their education. Education is a human right, and the pandemic brings this right into crisis.
Living in unfamiliar refugee or IDP camps, children who have fled conflict benefit from the stability and opportunity of education. Schools offer a safe haven for refugee children who witnessed immense violence in their home communities. They also offer opportunities for intellectual and social development for young students who might otherwise lack access to these resources. The disruptions to education caused by the pandemic threaten to undo years of progress in learning outcomes for refugee children. This week, I discuss the main challenges that refugees and their educators face, as well as some of the solutions to overcome these barriers to education.
[COVID-19] threatens to cause a ‘pandemic of poverty’ in the world’s most vulnerable communities, and the steady and hard-won increases in school, university, technical and vocational education enrollment could be reversed – in some cases permanently.Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
A Recent History of Refugee Education
Globally, around 91 percent of children attend primary school, with that number reduced to between 50 percent and 63 percent for refugee children. The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that half of the 3.5 million primary school-aged refugees in the world do not attend school. This sobering reality led the UNHCR to form the Educate a Child program in 2012. Since its inception, the program has increased primary school enrollment for refugee children by over 400,000 in 12 partner countries, including Syria and Uganda. This success shows that recent strides have been made in increasing access to education for refugee children.
Many goals for refugee student achievement appeared to be closer in reach than ever at the start of 2020. As with other humanitarian initiatives, the COVID-19 pandemic completely disrupted this progress. Refugee education is in jeopardy due to limited personal access to the internet and the growing need for refugee students to support their families by working.
Limited Personal Internet Access
Simply put, refugees need access to the technology that will enable them to be successful in school. With many schools turning to online classes and assignments to mitigate health risks associated with COVID-19, students need laptops and the internet. While there is a lack of data on how many refugees currently have access to the internet, the UNHCR estimates that fewer than 20 percent of rural refugees are connected. This disparity is especially evident for primary school-aged refugees, who have even less access to these technologies. Students have reported sharing a singular cell phone with their siblings to attend classes and complete assignments due to the pandemic. These technological barriers must be overcome in order to enable refugee students to truly engage with their education.
Refugee Students Becoming Workers
With many schools closed and precarious economic conditions, refugee families have sent their children into the workforce in droves. Students who might have gone to school instead shoulder the burden of providing for the family or taking on household work. This effect is especially pronounced for female children, who take on childcare for their siblings who no longer have school or daycare to attend. These setbacks not only impact students’ abilities to learn, but also increasingly contribute to feelings of isolation for refugees far from home. Already facing an increased risk of dropping out of school, missing a semester or year of school might lead refugee students to permanently drop out. This heightened risk demonstrates that it is essential to spot at-risk refugee students and intervene to give them the best change to enjoy a full education.
Our country is our home, and once there is peace, we can go back. That’s why it’s so important to invest in education. In [the] future, when there is peace, the children will use the knowledge and skills they acquired here to develop our country.
Wani, a former South Sudanese refugee and refugee educator in Uganda
Overcoming Barriers to Education
Although these challenges are difficult to overcome, educators and policymakers are working to ensure refugee students can still access school. In refugee camps, and even closer to home, governmental and non-governmental organizations are stepping up to the challenge. Refugee educators are advocating for increased technology access for their students, while policymakers are attempting to encourage families to keep their children in schools. The UNHCR is piloting education programs that take place entirely virtually and offering ‘mobile classrooms’ to help students access their teachers and the internet.
More locally, Catholic Charities of Tennessee, a refugee resettlement organization in Nashville, adapted its programming to offer virtual resources for refugee students. They also made an effort to provide laptops and internet hotspots to refugee students resettled in Nashville. This success demonstrates how local organizations play an important role in advancing refugee education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This also illustrates how important it is for Novel Hand community members to connect with their local organizations which are helping address this crisis.
Though many challenges remain for ensuring equitable access during the pandemic, there are hopeful signs that refugee students will continue to reap the benefits of a strong education.
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