Times Higher Education Spoke with Associate Vice President for Global Initiatives Rebecca Granato ’99 about the Need for Educational Access for Refugees from the Global South

While progress has been made in meeting the “15by30” target proposed United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a goal of enrolling 15 percent of refugee youth in higher education by 2030, challenges remain in reaching that target. Times Higher Education spoke with Rebecca Granato ’99, associate vice president for global initiatives at Bard College, and other experts in higher education about how public perception and policy impact the lives of refugee students. Granato pointed to Brazil, Cameroon, Jordan, Kenya, and Rwanda as countries that have made policy changes to broaden access to higher education for refugees, but noted that such policies might be “a hard case to make” in other countries. “Refugees are often perceived both by the population and the government as a burden and as detractors from the emerging opportunities [for] the national students. They’re often also perceived as a security risk,” she said. Addressing such perceptions of refugee students may be key to achieving the UNHCR’s 15by30 goal, with institutions of higher education like Bard leading the way in pioneering programs for students to attend college.

Post Date: 06-12-2024