How can we preserve the human capital of countries affected by forced migration?

Universities and other higher education institutions (HEi) not only provide highly-skilled workforce, but they also produce human capital that is crucial for the political, economic, social, and cultural future of every country. Forced migration has had devastating effects on national higher education, including post-compulsory tertiary, technical and vocational programs. People fleeing their homes or places of habitual residence because of armed or political conflicts, generalised violence, human rights violations, or natural and human-made disasters become either internally displaced or seek asylum in host countries. HEi are forced to relocate their staff and activities because of armed conflicts or political repression. Since universities build the future, it is crucial that they are preserved during these conflicts. All these questions point to a burning issue: how can we preserve the human capital of countries whose nationals and academic institutions are affected by forced migration?

International humanitarian strategies

Public and private institutions have supported displaced people in host countries for decades. However, helping refugees get access to higher education (HE) and addressing the role they will play in the future of their country of origin has only recently become part of the international humanitarian strategy, driven by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

On the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which called on the States to provide refugees access to post-elementary education, the UNHCR set up the Agenda for Protection, highlighting education as “an important tool of protection” for children. Extending this policy to adults, UNHCR’s 2007-2009 Education Strategy acknowledged that education could make a significant contribution to the self-reliance of displaced people and “create the ‘human and social capital’ needed for future reconstruction and economic development in areas of origin or integration.” However, like UNHCR’s 2010-2012 Education Strategy, it called attention to the lack of HE funding, which had been limited to UNHCR’s Albert Einstein Academic Refugee Initiative since 1992, as it was not a priority for its sponsors.

While HE became a key priority in UNHCR’s 2012-2016 Education Strategy, the 2016 New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants mobilised the international community to adopt a set of commitments to improve protective measures for displaced people and supporting their host countries, in response to large movements of refugees and migrants in historically unprecedented numbers. The 193 signatory countries acknowledged the impact migration can have on human capital in countries of origin (44.), considered developing scholarships and student visas for refugees (79.), and admitted that “in conflict and crisis situations, higher education serves as a powerful driver for change, shelters and protects a critical group of young men and women by maintaining their hopes for the future, fosters inclusion and non-discrimination and acts as a catalyst for the recovery and rebuilding of post-conflict countries” (82.).

In 2019, Education 2030: A Strategy for Refugee Inclusion set the objective to enrol 15% of college-eligible displaced persons—regardless of legal status (refugees, asylum seekers, returnees, stateless and internally displaced people), gender or disability—in tertiary or connected HE programmes in host and third countries by 2030. By tracking the progress of 15by30, we can see the creation of a humanitarian ecosystem, which raised the global refugee youth participation in higher education from 1% in 2019 to 7% in 2022.

The acceleration in international policy-making over the past two decades and the multi-stakeholders’ actions result from the explosive rise in the number of forcibly displaced people. By the end of 2012, their number reached 45.2 million, and by the end of 2016, 65.6 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide. The latest figures from mid-2023 show 110 million displaced people.

What do (Australian) universities do for refugees?

Universities play critical roles in responding to humanitarian crises: they not only provide access to a variety of disciplines, connected learning, training, and mentorship programs, but they conduct research on forced migration and immigration policies globally and locally. They also advocate and improve refugee protection policies by publicly engaging in humanitarian issues.

Australia is going through an important transition, as its universities are opening more doors to students with refugee or asylum seeker backgrounds. An unprecedented initiative, the Australian Refugee Welcome University Sponsorship Consortium (ARWUSC), was established in November 2023, bringing together today 15 universities from across the country to build pathways to HE for displaced people. At the Second Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland in December 2023, the Australian Government pledged to enhance refugee self-reliance through HE by developing a Refugee Student Settlement Pathway, although the project is currently on hold. Earlier initiatives, such as the Welcoming Universities launched in 2010 and the Refugee Education Special Interest Group in 2016, paved the way for these more recent actions. Advocacy is needed more than ever as the situation for students with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds in Australia remains precarious.

To provide HE for refugees in third countries, Western Sydney University found an innovative solution with the initiative of the Institute of International Education. The IIE grants scholarships for students from refugee camps on the Myanmar-Thai border to follow business studies at WSU’s Vietnam campus, which operates at the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City. The aim is to fight poverty in Myanmar by focusing on job creation and economic development. This model of multilateral collaboration allows international campuses to overcome restrictive visa policies on their main campuses, while the students receive the same education in Vietnam as they would in Australia.

Humanitarian crises also affect HEi which are forced to relocate their staff and activities. Their survival is crucial for the reconstruction and stabilisation of the affected countries. The UK-based Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) is one of the very few organisations in the world that supports displaced academics and academic institutions, relying on HEi in the UK. After kick-starting programmes for Iraq and Zimbabwe, CARA launched the Syria Programme: Investing in Syria’s Intellectual Capital in 2016 to support internally displaced scholars and those fleeing to neighbouring countries, as well as HEi in Syria’s regions not controlled by the regime.

Finding global solutions to local situations is key if we look at the current statistics on forced migration. Out of the 110 million displaced people, 62.5 million are internally displaced and 36.4 million are refugees, 69% of whom live in countries that neighbour their countries of origin. With the UN estimating that 200 million people will be displaced by 2050, and that their extremely limited access to HE will have an irreparable impact on future generations, some are suggesting launching a Marshall plan for refugees to create an education trust fund, financed by countries all over the world.

Preserving human capital in countries affected by forced migration therefore necessitates a two-pronged strategy. Firstly, displaced persons should have access to HE through national enrolment and complementary educational pathways in host and third countries, as well as connected higher education, regardless of their place of residence. This is in line with the 15by30 international humanitarian educational strategy. In addition to the mutual economic, social, and legal benefits for both host countries and displaced persons, HE would produce future leaders and peace-builders originally from conflict-torn or post-conflict countries. Secondly, HEi should provide their partnership, collaboration, knowledge, expertise, and financial and technical assistance to academic institutions in conflict zones and to those forcibly displaced, to help rebuild affected countries. This two-folded strategy aligns with the objectives and action plan of the Global Compact on Refugees, adopted in 2018 by the UN General Assembly to set into motion the New York Declaration. The compact aims to ease pressures on host countries, enhance refugee self-reliance, expand access to third-country solutions, and improve conditions in countries of origin to ensure a safe and dignified return home.