The integration of refugees into Uganda's education system

Abstract

This is a proposal for a four-year research programme designed to monitor the impact of the process of integration of educational services for refugees in Adjumani, Arua, and Moya Districts. This process will be part of the implementation of a new policy of the Government of Uganda (GoU) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In July 1998, the GoU/UNHCR announced its new policy, 'From Local Settlement to Self-Sufficiency: A Long-Term Strategy for Assistance to Refugees in Uganda, 1999-2002'. Initially it is to apply to Sudanese refugees in three northern districts. Over a four-year period, the GoU and UNHCR aim to bring the refugees in these three districts to self-sufficiency and to integrate services for refugees with those of the host society. These districts also contain large numbers of self-settled refugees who are already using local services, including schools.1 Moreover, some of the 'refugee schools' provide education to the children of nationals.

The proposed research has been conceived and will be implemented as a discrete study within the broader framework of an EU-sponsored project, Research on Policy Issues in "Refugee Health and Welfare. A major objective of this umbrella project is to build local capacity in research and teaching. Collaborating 2 institutions are the Refugee Studies Programme (RSP), University of Oxford, UK; the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; Institute of Public Health, Makerere University, Uganda, and the Centre for Refugee Studies/Medical School, Mai University, and Kenya.3