This thursday (09/03), the UN agency for refugees (UNHCR) published the report Coming Together for Refugee Education, with unprecedented data on the impact of the pandemic of the new coronavirus in the education of refugee youth and children.

The data in the report is from 2019 and is based on information from twelve countries that are home to more than half of the world’s refugee children. It points out that only 31% of young refugees are enrolled in High school (equivalent to secondary education in Brazil), while in elementary school (equivalent in Brazil to primary education) the enrollment rate of refugee children is 77%. In higher education, only 3% of young refugees are enrolled.

The girls’ situation
The risks are greater for refugee girls. They already have more limited access to education than boys and are half as likely to enroll in high school.

Based on UNHCR data, the Malala Fund has estimated that as a result of COVID-19, half of all high school refugee girls will not return when classrooms reopen this month. All girls are at risk of dropping out of school forever in countries where the gross enrollment of refugee girls was already below 10%.

Access to technology
While many native families in countries like Brazil do not have access to electronic devices and the internet, 85% of refugee families also have limitations to adapt to the situation imposed by Covid-19, in developing or less developed countries.

And coronavirus is not the only risk faced by refugees. In the Sahel region of Africa, 2,500 schools were affected by violent attacks, interrupting the studies of 350,000 students, according to the report.

Good practices
The report also shows how families, communities and governments are working to provide education for refugee children. In addition to exposing positive examples of governments that made the right of refugee children to attend public schools into law, with stories from Ecuador and Iran.

Examples of digital innovation highlight the benefits of transitioning to online learning with the story of Egypt’s Minister of Education and a family in Jordan.

The interest of governments, the private sector, civil society and others in finding solutions that strengthen national education systems and connect with pathways to formal and certified education are highlighted in the report.

During the launch of the document in Brazil, at an online meeting held by UNHCR, Compassiva, Sesc and IKMR, examples of actions and projects carried out in Brazil, in favor of refugee education, were presented.

Compassiva has two work fronts that contribute to the education of refugees in the city of São Paulo: Portuguese classes, offered through the LAR – Levando Ajuda ao Refugiado (LAR – Bringing Help to Refugees) program, and the revalidation diplomas Project.

Camila Suemi, Legal Coordinator of Compassiva, says that the biggest impact of the pandemic on activities was the online classes and the entire process of revalidating the diploma, having also migrated to take place via the digital platform. There are currently 142 students enrolled and, in the first semester, 66 revalidation processes were started.

You can access the report here.