Expanding "High Touch" Refugee Education in Central and West Africa 

Representatives from the OSUN Hubs Refugee Higher Education Access Program recently participated in a roundtable discussion in Dakar, Senegal, hosted by UNHCR and the Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium (CLCC), concerning the expansion of refugee higher education in West and Central Africa. OSUN and Bard College, both known for designing "high touch" hybrid online and in-person refugee education programs that are student-centered and technology-infused, committed to using their resources to supporting program expansion in the region.

The roundtable was activated by the recent UNHCR/partner commitment to ensure 15% of refugee youth are enrolled in higher education by the year 2030. Within West and Central Africa, the rates of enrollment of refugees in higher education are comparatively lower than in other regions. The discussion presented an opportunity to bring together local and international actors, including higher education ministries, universities and refugee students, to discuss commitments to increase levels of enrollment including within complex humanitarian emergencies (CHE) for younger refugees. 

The discussions focused on the fact that Niger, Cameroon, and Chad will be launching higher education programs in the near future, with OSUN member institutions Bard College and Arizona State University playing a technical role in advising and building capacity. The OSUN Hubs have also committed to supporting the development of landscape studies to better understand refugee needs and how local universities can contextualize their CHE offerings.

Post Date: 04-12-2022