Obstacles to Education of the Children of Refugees and IDP: Lessons and Policy Options from the European Union’s ‘Education for Life’ Project in Uganda and South Sudan

Abstract

The study documented the obstacles to the education of the children of refugees and internally displaced people (IDP), especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and policy options. While it reviewed the global situation, it substantially reported the experiences of the European Union’s Education for Life Project which provided Accelerated Education Programme (AEP) for the children of refugees and IDP in Uganda and South Sudan. It gathered data from three keys sources: UNHCR and related literature; reports of the Education for Life Project; and Focused Group Discussion (FGD) with key officials of the Project. It revealed the existence of 79.5 million people displaced world-wide (which include 26 million refugees and 45.7 million IDPs). About 7.1 million children of the refugees and IDP are of schooling age with only 3.4 million accessing education. Relying on the United Nations [1] Resilience Framework, the study recommended policies to ensure that the learners, teachers, and education system have the capacity to withstand the COVID-19 pandemic and future emergencies.