There has been a lot of discussion, and some progress in educating underprivileged and vulnerable communities worldwide. But despite the work of governments, NGOs, community leaders, and volunteers around the world, millions of children are still being left behind.
According to the UNHCR, over 3.5 million refugee children were deprived of the opportunity to attend school last year. For older children, the situation is even worse. Only 23% of adolescent refugees are enrolling in secondary school, compared to 84% of adolescents worldwide. Even among primary school children, 39% of refugees — nearly 2 in 5 child refugees — missed school last year.
As these children grow older, the impact of lost educational opportunities only gets more severe. Just 1% of refugees are enrolled in tertiary education, compared to 36% of children worldwide.