Together we can tackle Africa’s biggest refugee education crisis

Uganda is known for its openness and hospitality to foreigners. We see this reflected in the response to the refugee crisis. The country has generously opened its doors to children and adults who have fled horrific conflict and are in need of help, and today, Uganda hosts the largest number of refugees in Africa.
Save the Children and other NGOs, both Ugandan and international, are providing assistance to the refugee-hosting districts and we see every day how essential services are severely overstretched – for both refugees and local communities.

For as much effort as we are making, a steep 57 per cent of refugee children and 34 per cent of Ugandan host community children are out of school. For those who attend, there are classrooms bursting with more than 200 pupils, not enough teachers, and crumbling walls that badly need repair. Children desperately want to learn, but many are not getting the chance.

We need a new approach to deal with this crisis and ensure that all these children – refugees and Ugandans – have a better future.

Last week, the Government of Uganda, development partners, United Nations agencies and NGOs came together to launch a new plan that could provide quality learning to 567,500 children and youth every year.

The Plan – called the Education Response Plan for Refugees and Host Communities – is the first of its kind worldwide. It is ambitious but realistic, setting out exactly what can be achieved and how we can work together to do it.

It is led by the Ministry of Education and Sports, but coordinated across all different actors. It covers Ugandans as well as refugees, and demonstrates that universal schooling in a refugee crisis is essential and achievable.

The Plan covers activities ranging from constructing new classrooms, training teachers and providing textbooks, to strengthening education policies, piloting innovative new ways of learning, and providing vocational skills training.

At Save the Children, our work is already aligning with the new Plan. For example, through our accelerated education programmes, which help children who have missed years of schooling to get back into formal education by teaching a specially adapted version of the Ugandan primary curriculum in just three years.

We have joined hands with other NGOs and the ministry to develop common guidelines and harmonised approaches. The Plan will be revised annually for constant improvement.

We hope that the next revision will place greater focus on providing Early Childhood Development (ECD) activities before children reach primary school, as the early development years are critical to develop cognitive and emotional skills that shape a child’s entire life.

Currently only 19 per cent of Ugandan host community children and 39 per cent of refugee children are enrolled in ECD, and we must work together to improve this. We know that local communities and authorities, who have generously welcomed refugees need much more support.

In recent years, international governments have committed to share the responsibility of responding to the global refugee crisis. However, we have seen little evidence of this.

Funding for the refugee response in Uganda remains critically low, with this year’s appeal less than 20 per cent funded.
At the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York, we will be co-hosting a high-level meeting on refugee education and calling on donors to walk the talk and turn these promises into concrete action, starting by pledging funding to Uganda’s new Education Response Plan.

Investing in education is vital for ensuring that refugee children from some of the world’s worst conflicts are given the best possible chance of a future and to contribute to building a prosperous and peaceful society.

Education is not only a human right; it protects children from child labour and exploitation, including saving girls from early and forced marriages. It helps children cope with the trauma and psychological wounds of their experiences, and empowers them to live productive, fulfilling and independent lives.

Education has the power to change lives. At the launch of the Education Response Plan, 18-year-old Hindiyo told us how she and her family fled war in Somalia 10 years ago. Newly arrived in Uganda, unable to speak a word of English, and with no friends, she hid away at home for a year.

Enrolling in school not only brought her academic success; it also helped her make friends and integrate into Ugandan life. She said: “Uganda has given me so much. Now I want to give back to Uganda.”
We are excited that Uganda is at the forefront of shaping refugee education policy worldwide. We are confident that if this new Plan is funded and implemented, everyone will benefit – refugees and Ugandans alike.
Now we have to work together to make it a reality. An entire generation is at stake.

Ms Lith is Save the Children’s Country Director in Uganda.