UNESCO calls for more to be done for migrants’ education

BERLIN – The U.N. culture and education agency says in a new report that more needs to be done to integrate refugee children into national educational systems.

UNESCO said in the report released in Berlin on Tuesday that better access to quality education would help both the new arrivals and their new homelands.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay says “everyone loses when the education of migrants and refugees is ignored; education is the key to inclusion and cohesion.”

The agency says half of the world’s forcibly displaced people are under age 18, and many countries exclude them from national education systems or limit access.

It says low- and middle-income countries host 89 per cent of refugees, but lack funds for education. The report calls on donors to triple funding and ensure long-term support.