Global Refugee Forum: Inclusion of Refugees in National Education Systems

Every parent who has seen the pride and thrill in their children’s eyes after breaking the code to reading, cannot possibly wish for anything else but that every other parent around the world could witness the same. And for every child to break that code and access learning, reading information and therefore access the world.

I am very happy for this opportunity to introduce the spotlight session on inclusion of refugees in education systems. We have an important task ahead of us in order to make SDG 4 on education for all a reality - also for refugees.

Education is a fundamental human right, meaning that every child and young person has the right to go to school and learn. However, for displaced children access to education is a major challenge which impacts sustainable development of future generations. For children in emergencies and who have grown up in displacement, education is of paramount importance for a number of very important reasons. Education can provide protection against violence and exploitation including recruitment into armed groups. It can help children deal with difficult experiences. Education can also provide essential skills to children building their resilience and opportunities to influence and, in the end, reducing risks and contributing to more peaceful societies. We need to ensure that refugees are included in access to education – leaving no one behind.

Sweden is proud to contribute to this joint effort, to share experiences and to learn together about how to make inclusion in national education systems work efficiently in practice.

We have experiences to share both from working on inclusion of newly arrived refugees in the Swedish education system as well as experiences from our international development work.

Enhanced access to education in conflict and post conflict situation and in humanitarian crises is spelled out as a key policy priority for Swedish development cooperation since a few years back. For this reason, education and inclusion has been one of our priorities in the preparations for the Global Refugee Forum, and it is also an area of priority for our pledges and future commitments.

Sweden has been a country of immigration for decades. Today almost 8 percent of all school children have immigrated to Sweden within the last 4 years.

Swedish law provides access to education for newly arrived refugees. Our experience is that effective inclusion in education in national systems is possible but require active strategies. Some of the key approaches to include refugees in the Swedish school system is to promote early childhood education, a whole of school approach to learning and integration, the focus of simultaneous learning of language and subjects, and the importance of promoting mother tongue competence.

My government is a feminist government and we pursue a feminist foreign policy. Investing in education for all with a particular focus on girls, also in crisis situations, is a key priority for Swedish development cooperation. This is because education is key for the achievement of all development goals.

The right to education is not only a right to education, but indeed also about rights through education: the right to health, participation, employment and active citizenship.

Education is a fundamental human right, meaning that every child and young person has the right to go to school and learn. But it is obvious in crisis situations that this is a major challenge and that the future for too many girls, boys and adolescents is greatly impacted due to this.

The fact that four out of ten refugee children in primary school age and four out of five of secondary school age are not enrolled, and that girls living in conflict affected countries are 2 1/2 times more likely to be out of school than boys is deeply worrying. We need to ensure that refugees are not left behind, get access to and can complete their education. Regardless of where in the world, we cannot afford lost generations in terms of education.

My meetings with migrants and refugees as well as host communities on the Colombia-Venezuela border, in Ethiopia and in Sudan earlier this year, also illustrated that support to education for displaced groups and for host population can reduce tension and promote cohesion. It is a good example of how to create synergies between humanitarian aid, long term development cooperation and peacebuilding. Development actors need to link up early with humanitarian actors, not only to provide basic social services in humanitarian contexts and conflict situations, but also to strengthen local capacity for service delivery and national systems, including in the education sector.

Sweden provides support to several UN agencies and INGOs for interventions related to education in emergencies. Sweden is also a large contributor to the Global Partnership for Education as well as to Education Cannot Wait.

We pledge to continue investing substantially to enhance access to education and inclusion in local and national systems for displaced persons and refugees, including through our development cooperation and through our partners and partnerships.

To conclude, education is key to development, to peace, to safety and to dignity. We need to step up efforts to close the gap in education and ensure that more children are given education and protection. Long- term and sustainable schooling, preferably as part of a formal education system, are necessary.  Innovative solutions are needed, and I look forward to the discussion today on how to make inclusion in education work in practice.

Thank you!