Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
144
thirds were enrolled in primary education, and one in ten were enrolled in secondary
education, as of March 2016.93
Refugee children encounter an array of barriers to enrolling and completing their education.94
Some relate to infrastructure and supply: for example, a limited number of schools
(particularly secondary) or school places; limited number of qualified teachers; poor facilities
and overcrowded classes; limited access for children with special needs; a lack of teaching
materials; and a dangerous and/or lengthy journey to school. This is partly related to the
circumstances of refugees’ arrival, with an influx of refugees placing great strain on local
infrastructure—for example, schools in northern Uganda have struggled to absorb new
arrivals, necessitating the building of additional schools alongside investments in existing
infrastructure.95 But these capacity issues are also partly a product of the surge in enrollment
nationally following the abolition of primary school fees. Cost of enrollment was a significant
barrier for poor Ugandan families, particularly in rural parts of Uganda, and the abolition of
primary school fees dramatically increased enrollment rates, particularly for the poor and
girls: in 1999, a child was 60 percent more likely to be enrolled in primary school than in
1992.96 But this sudden surge in enrollment placed great strain on Uganda’s educational
infrastructure, leading to overcrowding, and shortages of teachers and teaching materials. 97
Uganda’s Ministry of Education and Sports provides capitation grants (to cover costs of tuition
for schools) and school facilities grants for constructing amenities in the neediest
communities, but these funds are often inadequate for meeting infrastructure needs.98
Refugee families may be unable to afford schooling-related costs—such as uniform, learning
materials, and admission fees—or may rely on children to work to support their family. A
2013 study found refugees spent a quarter of their expendable income on these schooling-
related costs.99 Language can be another important barrier. Uganda requires schools to
instruct students in the dominant language of the local community, but English is often used
when there are multiple common languages or schools cannot find teachers to instruct in the
dominant language. Refugees may also lack the documentation to prove prior learning, or may
need to repeat grades to fulfill gaps in their education.
Health
Refugees can access free primary healthcare services from local government-operated health
centers or hospitals, or from health centers in refugee settlements. In refugee settlements,
healthcare services are administered by health agencies and NGOs such as MSF, UNICEF, Care
International, and AHA. While Uganda’s public health system provides free healthcare
services, it is underfunded and under-resourced, particularly in rural areas where the ratio of
93 While rates of primary enrollment remained quite steady across the three districts, there was a greater range for early
childhood education and secondary education. UNHCR, “South Sudan Refugee Situation – Post 15 Dec 2013 Caseload. Sector
Indicators – Uganda, March 2016,
94 UNHCR, The UNHCR Uganda Strategy for Refugee Education 2013-16.
95 Guido Ambroso, Gita Swamy Meier-Ewert, Julian Parker, and Leah Richardson, Evaluation of UNHCR’s Response to the L3
South Sudan Refugee Crisis in Uganda and Ethiopia, UNHCR Policy Development and Evaluation Service (PDES), January
2016, 63
96 B. Essama-Nssah, “Achieving Universal Primary Education through School Fee Abolition: Some Policy Lessons from
Uganda,” in Yes Africa Can: Success Stories from a Dynamic Continent, eds. Punam Chuhan-Pole and Manka Angwafo
(Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2011).
97 Essama-Nssah, “Achieving Universal Primary Education through School Fee Abolition.”
98 Essama-Nssah, “Achieving Universal Primary Education through School Fee Abolition”; and UNHCR, The UNHCR Uganda
Strategy for Refugee Education 2013-16, 24-25.
99 UNHCR, OPM, and WFP , Uganda Joint Assessment Mission 2014, 25.