UNHCR Issued Report Regarding Education of Refugee Children (August 30, 2019) [1]
On August 30, 2019, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a report entitled “Stepping Up: Refugee Education in Crisis.” [3] In the report, the UNHCR stated that of the world’s 7.1 million school-age refugee children, over half (3.7 million) are not receiving an education. The UNHCR reported that education enrollment for refugees is approximately 63% at the primary school level, 24% at the secondary school level, and 3% at the higher education level, whereas the enrollment numbers globally are 91%, 84%, and 37%, respectively. Some of the barriers cited by the report include shortages of schools and teachers and overburdened classrooms. The UNHCR announced a new initiative to improve secondary education opportunities for refugees following the success of pilot projects in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Pakistan since 2017.