United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has launched a platform providing verified information on higher education programmes available to refugees worldwide.
It was learnt that the platform was launched in response to needs expressed by refugee students.
According to the UNHCR, its Opportunities website intends to provide a global database of reliable, up-to-date information on scholarship programmes open to refugees.
It is understood that three percent of refugees have access to higher education globally and many refugees are not aware of tertiary education programmes available to them in their host countries or abroad.
‘There has always been a need to centralise information on opportunities available to refugees, especially education opportunities’, UNHCR quoted a refugee, Arash Bordbar, as saying.
‘For most of us, refugees, education is the means we use to keep hope and move forward.
‘Having a platform where we can see different opportunities and match them with our own expertise and aspirations can change the way we can and will contribute to the societies we live in’.
It was learnt that UNHCR and its partners are also working to ensure that 15 percent of young refugee women and men can access the benefits of higher education by the year 2030.
Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at UNHCR, Gillian Triggs, said, ‘Higher education opportunities are very limited for refugees, but they are life-changing.
‘They can help equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to live productive, fulfilling and independent lives.
‘We hope more universities and academic institutions will come forward and offer scholarships for refugees’.
The platform also aims to support the Global Compact on Refugees’ objectives in expanding third-country solutions for refugees.
‘Opportunities to study abroad also complement humanitarian admissions and resettlement programs by facilitating the safe and legal entry of refugees to other countries’, Triggs added.
‘Study routes not only support their empowerment but also help with finding them long-term solutions’.
Meanwhile, the portal covers some 20 programmes offered by various education providers in over 60 countries, with UNHCR encouraging more universities to join the platform.
Source: UNHCR
Photo source: Ethiopia UNICEF
