Education

Rear view of a professor actively teaching a full class of learners. The students facing the camera are wearing blue COVID-19 masks and school uniforms. — Grade 8 learners at Arid Zone Primary School in Kenya attend a language lesson safely with the support of UNHCR. ©UNHCR/Samuel Otieno

Education is at the heart of UNHCR’s work as equitable access to quality education helps to protect, connect, and empower refugees, in both acute emergencies and protracted situations.

UNHCR’s education programmes are framed by universal human rights instruments, including the 1951 Refugee Convention (Article 22) and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 26). Ensuring access to education is a UN Sustainable Development Goal and a core component of UNHCR’s international protection and durable solutions mandate.

Education of young refugees is one of the greatest investments we can make as a global community to bring about lasting change. Despite this, close to half of all refugee children, 48 per cent, remain out of school; meanwhile COVID-19-related school closures created new hurdles for those without access to connected learning.

A school girl in uniform smiles at the camera during a chemistry class. — Education: Thematic brief 2022

Flexible funding helps UNHCR meet foundational costs — such as teacher salaries and support, school infrastructure and basic learning materials — and provide predictable access to quality education for 1.9 million children every year.

In its Education Strategy, UNHCR proposed a vision for 2030 of:

Ensuring equitable and sustainable inclusion in national education systems for refugees, asylum-seekers, returnees, stateless and internally displaced people;
Fostering safe, enabling environments that support learning for all students;
Enabling learners to use their education toward sustainable futures.