South Sudanese refugee, Esther Buri, is studying commerce at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, thanks to UNHCR’s DAFI programme. © UNHCR/Antoine Tardy
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Teach For All global network are teaming up to support employment in education for refugee university graduates through a network of teaching fellowship programmes. The partnership will support the inclusion of refugees in host communities.
According to the World Bank, economic returns for college attendance are the highest in the educational system with an average 17 per cent increase in earnings per year of schooling. Under the partnership, graduates supported by UNHCR’s flagship higher education scholarhip programme, DAFI – the Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative – will have a pathway to employment through a teaching and leadership development fellowship with Teach For All.
“This exciting partnership with Teach for All will help refugee graduates to transition into the job market and fulfil their immense potential as active members of their host communities,” said Rebecca Telford, UNHCR’s Chief of Education.
Worldwide, only 3 per cent of young refugees are currently enrolled in higher education. Through the DAFI programme, UNHCR supports refugees to enroll in public higher education institutions across the world, as part of its goal of enrolling 15 per cent of young refugee women and men in higher education by 2030 – the 15by30 target. This goal is aligned with the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees and is consistent with the pledge to “leave no one behind” in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The collaboration will enable Teach For All’s network of partner organizations in refugee-hosting countries to include refugee graduates in their teacher cohorts and to develop them as inspirational classroom leaders. It will be piloted in several countries in Africa with the aim of expanding to other countries where Teach For All partner organizations work.
Employment opportunities such as the ones provided by the Teach For All network are vital to advancing the full social and economic inclusion of refugees who have completed an undergraduate degree and have valuable skills and talent to bring to the teaching profession.
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Teach For All
Teach For All is a global network of 60 independent, locally-led and governed partner organizations and a global organization that works to accelerate the progress of the network. Each network partner recruits and develops promising future leaders to teach in their nations’ under-resourced schools and communities and, with this foundation, to work with others, inside and outside of education, to ensure all children are able to fulfill their potential. Teach For All’s global organization works to increase the network’s impact by supporting the development of new organizations; fostering network connectivity and learning; providing coaching and consulting; and enabling access to global resources for the benefit of the network.
Teach For All is working toward ensuring all children, regardless of nationality, background, or the sociopolitical challenges in their countries, have the opportunity to attain an excellent education. Teach For All supports crisis-affected children through a variety of strategies and activities including providing long term support to communities impacted by emergencies and supporting adolescents and youth, who are often not reached by education in emergency responses. Find out more about the Teach For All network approach to Education in Emergencies at: https://teachforall.org/education-emergencies
For more information, visit our website: www.teachforall.org, or follow Teach For All on Twitter @TeachForAll and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachforall/
About UNHCR
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads international action to protect people forced to flee because of conflict and persecution. We deliver life-saving assistance like shelter, food and water; help safeguard fundamental human rights; and develop solutions that ensure people have a safe place to call home where they can build a better future.
UNHCR’s 2019 education strategy, Refugee Education 2030: A strategy for refugee inclusion, aims to foster the conditions, partnerships, collaboration and approaches that lead all refugees, asylum seekers, returnees, internally displaced persons and stateless children and youth and their hosting communities to access inclusive and equitable quality education, including at the tertiary level.
To learn more please visit: https://www.unhcr.org/tertiary-education.html , see the 2019 DAFI Programme Annual Report and follow @UNHCR_Education on Twitter.
For more information please contact:
- Manal Stulgaitis, Education Officer, UNHCR: stulgait@unhcr.org
- Francisca Bos, Director of Strategic Communications, Teach For All: francisca.bos@teachforall.org
Originally published by UNHCR on 07 July 2021.
