education portfolio

We believe that all refugee youth have the equal right to education,we are committed to doing everything in our power to make sure these refugees have access to quality post-primary education. Below is a description of the education mix, the different types of post-primary education, which includes not only secondary, vocational training, tertiary education, but also life skills and other complementary programmes that are of concern to the RET.

The mix

The methods of delivery of these types of education are basically formal or non-formal. Secondary education has a well-defined structure and is organised around a vast and time charged curriculum.

To access secondary education, refugee students would normally have to respond to some entry requirement, such as successfully finishing primary education. The importance of secondary education is that it allows refugee students to access many higher learning and professional opportunities. This is simple and possible if a refugee can obtain a recognised certification of his/her knowledge and skills.
However, most may not be able to. For this reason, the RET promotes and intervenes to create liaisons between the Ministry of Education of the home countries, so that the refugee can be given due credit upon voluntary repatriation. When it is not possible, the RET promotes negotiation with the host country or other institutions to find alternatives to validate the education of the refugee.

Vocational (or professional or technical) education could be a component of secondary education or an independent non-formal educational programme. The latter approach is targeted to those refugees who cannot access formal post-primary education because they lost many years without going to school during their flight and exile. Generally, vocational education is mainly designed to acquire practical skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to directly integrate a particular occupation or trade demanded on the market of the refugee home country or in the region of resettlement. This type of education is specifically focused on enabling refugee youth to work in the short or medium-term and become productive and self-reliant in their societies.

Tertiary education, refers to any kind of education after the successful completion of secondary education, such as professional, para-professional or university education. Teacher training is an important example of tertiary education and it is strongly promoted by the RET. It helps to raise quality of education for refugee youth to higher levels and it has a multiplier effect, i.e., young women who become teachers in a refugee situation serve as role models and have a very positive impact on the access of girls to post-primary education.

To date, the support RET has been able to provide refugees for university education has been limited due to funding and giving priority to providing crucial secondary education and other post-primary types of education, and emphasizing equal access. However,we are committed to a progressively growing support for the tertiary education, as the rhythm and flow of funds and resources increase.

Life skills and other complementary programmes. In the context of emergency education we offer programmes educating sensitive issues which allow refugee youth to acquire life saving information and skills such as, landmines, peace and conflict resolution, health, including HIV, safety, sexual gender-based violence and environmental issues. This kind of knowledge and practice are rarely included inside traditional formal or non-formal education.