Financial Support is not Enough! Barriers in Access to Higher Education of Refugee and Displaced Students: Lessons from the Experience of the Oxford Students Refugee Campaign

Abstract

Although the right to education is consecrated by international agreements, UNHCR reports that only 1% of refugees attend university. Grass root campaigns have arisen as one way of helping refugee and displaced students to access universities. The Oxford Students Refugee Campaign (OxSRC), launched in October 2015, aimed to establish a student-financed scholarship fund within the University of Oxford. As a result of the first year of campaigning, more than 12,000 students have pledged to contribute to the fund at a ratio of one pound per month. This has enabled the creation of the Oxford Student Scholarships, for students whose education has been disrupted due to the humanitarian or political situation in their country of residence. This chapter aims to build on the experience of the OxSRC to draw valuable lessons for universities and campaign leaders in other places. First, a set of financial barriers hindering access to the application process itself are reviewed. Second, the various documentary barriers impacting students’ completion and submission of applications are analyzed. Finally, this chapter examines psycho-social barriers that impinge on refugee students’ preparations for their chosen programme of study.

Citation

Roque, T., Aiazzi, E., Smart, C., Topouzova, S. and Touzet, C. (2018), "Financial Support is not Enough! Barriers in Access to Higher Education of Refugee and Displaced Students: Lessons from the Experience of the Oxford Students Refugee Campaign", Sengupta, E. and Blessinger, P. (Ed.) Strategies, Policies, and Directions for Refugee Education (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 13), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 219-234. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120180000013012