17/10/2023
UNHCR report: steady increase over the past four years
Refugees and universities, enrollment on the increase
Refugee enrollment rate in higher level education has risen to 7 percent in 2023 on a global scale, continuing to increase over the past four years. This was stated in the 30th anniversary report of the DAFI program published by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
The enrollment rate has increased significantly from the 1 percent recorded in 2019. Among the contributing factors are, according to UNHCR:
- the continued efforts of stakeholders, both from the education sector and governmental stakeholders, resulting in ever-increasing support from higher education institutions in host countries, which continue to offer places or reduce fees to ensure more equitable access for refugees
- continued improvements in data collection and the expansion of the Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative, known as the DAFI scholarship program.
Last year, thanks to the DAFI program, more than 9,000 refugee students from 50 countries were awarded scholarships in 56 countries, an increase of nearly 1,000 students from the previous year. In 2022, 43 percent of scholarship students were women, the highest percentage ever.
Published: Tuesday 17 October 2023 - Last modify: Thursday 14 March 2024
