• Universities are failing refugees. They must do more to prevent a ’#lost_generation'

    Most refugees have lost records of their qualifications. It’s up to UK universities to find creative ways to assess them.

    Imagine that your home country is so unsafe that you have to flee from the nightmares of war, famine or persecution. You have to leave behind family, friends, belongings – and your education. As it stands, there are 70.8 million people displaced globally, including nearly 26 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. Only 3% of refugees have access to higher education. This is a catastrophic waste of potential.

    The UN’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development calls for the international community to ensure that “no one is left behind”, including the growing number of refugees and displaced people. Despite this, until recently the conversation has been focused almost exclusively on securing access to basic education. Now, on world access to higher education day, universities must think about how they can open their doors to more refugees too.
    ’It means everything’: the university opening its doors to asylum seekers
    Read more

    Education doesn’t only benefit the individual, but also the community they are part of. It serves to develop people to their fullest, and in turn build stronger, safer, healthier societies for us all. And, in the case of refugees and displaced people, it can provide them with the skills needed to tackle some of the uniquely challenging issues they face in both their host nations and their countries of origin.

    Unfortunately, for the overwhelming majority of refugees and displaced people, access to higher education is blocked by a number of barriers. These obstacles vary from financial restrictions, since refugees are often expected to pay inflated international student fees, to psychosocial or cultural barriers.

    But perhaps the greatest barrier is the lack of recognition of prior qualifications achieved in their countries of origin. When people flee war or persecution, documents can be lost or destroyed, making it harder to provide proof of their educational achievements. Even for those who do manage to salvage documentation of their previous studies, these often aren’t recognised by a different educational system. This is due to a historic and systemic lack of flexibility on the part of many universities.

    This must change. Unesco’s new global convention on the recognition of higher education qualifications is a significant start: it will provide a global standardised process for countries to understand and map out which university qualifications are equivalent. It obliges countries to put in place ways to recognise refugees’ qualifications, even if they cannot provide any documentary evidence.
    Refugees lose friends, money, home – ‘only knowledge lasts’
    Read more

    A more flexible approach to admissions criteria is already being introduced at a number of universities across the UK, thanks to initiatives such as the Universities of Sanctuary, which works to support institutions in enrolling refugees and displaced people. It offers member universities support with finding different ways to assess academic achievements in the absence of complete qualification documents.

    It’s incredibly important that universities realise that by being more flexible about refugees’ qualifications they aren’t lowering the standards of their institution, but increasing the number of students who are exceedingly determined and resilient. This will enrich the classroom with a diversity of perspectives. To date, 13 universities in Britain have been classified at Universities of Sanctuary, with 30 more working towards recognition.

    Of course, most displaced people have neither the means nor the opportunity to travel to the UK, but studying at university no longer means having to attend a physical campus thanks to technology. We need innovative approaches to deliver education in difficult environments such as refugee camps. The Partnership for Digital Learning and Increased Access, led by King’s College London, is one such example, increasing access to higher education for refugee and disadvantaged host communities in Jordan and Lebanon through new online programmes.

    Migration is one of the major global challenges of our time, and there is already talk of a “lost generation” of young refugees. Education is the route to a better life – and universities can help provide the solutions, through expanding access on campus and beyond.

    https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/nov/26/universities-are-failing-refugees-they-must-do-more-to-prevent-a-lost-g
    #déqualification #asile #migrations #réfugiés #université

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  • Department of Education criticised for secretly sharing children’s data

    Information commissioner acts after complaint that data is used for immigration enforcement.
    The UK’s privacy regulator has criticised the Department for Education (DfE) for secretly sharing children’s personal data with the Home Office, triggering fears it could be used for immigration enforcement as part of the government’s hostile environment policy.

    Acting on a complaint by the campaigning organisation, Against Borders for Children (ABC), the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) ruled that the DfE had failed to comply fully with its data protection obligations and may face further regulatory action.

    Pupil data is routinely collected by schools, according to the human rights organisation Liberty, representing the complainant, but teachers and parents were unaware in this case that the children’s information could be shared with immigration enforcement and result in their families being deported.

    In a letter to Liberty, seen by the Guardian, the ICO says its investigations team is now considering whether to take further action against the DfE for “wide ranging and serious concerns” highlighted in this case and in response to further concerns raised by “a number of other sources”.

    The ICO only upheld part of the complaint, but its letter said concerns raised had “highlighted deficiencies in the processing of pupil personal data by the DfE”, adding: “Our view is that the DfE is failing to comply fully with its data protection obligations, primarily in the areas of transparency and accountability, where there are far reaching issues, impacting a huge number of individuals in a variety of ways.”

    According to Liberty, the complaint arose out of events which followed the signing of a memorandum of understanding in June 2015, by which the DfE agreed to pass the personal details of up to 1,500 school children to the Home Office each month as part of a policy to create a hostile environment for migrants.

    Parents and campaigners became concerned the following year when the DfE asked schools to start collecting data on children’s nationality and country of birth. This resulted in a mass boycott by families who were worried it might be used for immigration enforcement.

    Following legal action brought in April 2018 by ABC, again represented by Liberty, the DfE announced it would no longer ask schools to collect nationality and country of birth data but, according to Liberty, the DfE’s actions left many parents afraid to send their children to school.

    Liberty lawyer Lara ten Caten said: “Data sharing is just one part of the government’s discredited hostile environment which has left people too afraid to do things like send their children to school, report crime or seek medical help. It’s time to redesign our immigration system so it respects people’s rights and treats everyone with dignity.”

    Liberty called on the DfE to delete children’s nationality and country of birth data that had been collected and urged all political parties to make manifesto commitments to introduce a data firewall which separated public services from immigration enforcement.

    The ABC’s Kojo Kyerewaa said: “The ICO decision has shown that the DfE cannot be trusted with children’s personal data. Without public debate or clear notification, schools have been covertly incorporated as part of Home Office immigration enforcement. These checks have put vulnerable children in further danger as parents are taken away via immigration detention and forced removals.”

    The DfE, unable to respond because of general election purdah constraints, referred to answers to earlier parliamentary questions, which said the department collected data on the nationality and country of birth of pupils via the school census between autumn 2016 and summer 2018.

    “The Home Office can only request information from the Department for Education for immigration enforcement purposes in circumstances where they have clear evidence a child may be at risk or there is evidence of illegal activity, including illegal immigration,” it said.

    An ICO spokesperson said: “As a non-departmental government body, the ICO has to consider its responsibilities during the pre-election period. Our regulatory work continues as usual but we will not be commenting publicly on every issue raised during the general election. We will, however, be closely monitoring how personal data is being used during political campaigning and making sure that all parties and campaigns are aware of their responsibilities under data protection and direct marketing laws.”

    https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/nov/12/department-of-education-criticised-for-secretly-sharing-childrens-data

    #école #enfants #enfance #surveillance #données #migrations #réfugiés #asile #sans-papiers #renvois #expulsions
    ping @etraces