Molly Baker, Associate Member, Immigration and Human Rights Law Review
I. Introduction
About half of the 246,000 refugee children in Egypt are not receiving an education.[1] This blog discusses how Egypt’s failure to provide adequate education to refugee children violates the human right to a free and compulsory primary education available to everyone as enumerated by Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).[2] Part II explores the population of refugee children in Egypt and how they are denied access to education. Part III discusses the impact of depriving displaced children of education and explores currently pending legislation which is incompatible with international refugee protection conventions and the UNHCR and would restrict basic refugee rights. To guarantee education to all children regardless of legal status, Egypt must implement changes to remove prohibitive fees and residency permit requirements and take direct action to ensure safety for refugee children in public schools.
II. Background
Egypt hosts refugees from fifty-eight nationalities, with Sudanese being the largest group, followed by Syrians.[3] Egypt’s refugee population grew significantly in 2012 due to conflict in Syria, and then again in April 2023 with the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands of people.[4] As a result, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has become increasingly involved in Egypt.[5] UNHCR Egypt aims to make education and healthcare accessible to Egypt’s refugees.[6] Egypt currently hosts more refugees than it has in its entire history.[7] However, worsening economic conditions in the country have uniquely impacted refugees and the urban communities they inhabit.[8] Among the issues facing the large refugee population in Egypt are soaring inflation, difficulty securing stable income, and lack of access to medical support and formal education.[9] A lack of formal education distinctly affects refugee children as it severely hinders their development in several ways.[10]
A. Barriers to Education for Refugee Children in Egypt
Several factors contribute to the lack of education for refugee children in Egypt. One major obstacle to education is that Egyptian public schools require refugee children to provide a valid residence permit and a previously recognized school certificate to register.[11] Without a school certificate, prospective students must take a placement test.[12] Children without a residency permit may seek an exception from the Ministry of Education and Technical Education; however, the process for doing so is prohibitively complicated and convoluted.[13] Additionally, acquiring legal residency entails obtaining a UNHCR registration card, waiting for an appointment with the Foreign Affairs Ministry, collecting required documents that some do not possess, and paying a fee.[14] If successful, the process can take over a year to complete.[15] Several families interviewed by Human Rights Watch stated that the process for obtaining legal residency can take more than a year, and even upon completing it, their children can still be rejected.[16] Other families felt so discouraged by the process that they did not even try to enroll their children in public schools.[17] The stringent bureaucratic barriers not only increase the costs of enrolling a child in an Egyptian public school but also keeps refugee and children from receiving an education.[18] Public schools charge families for placement tests, school supplies, uniforms, and transportation, among other items.[19] Moreover, enrollment fees at private and informal schools are even more expensive.[20] Not only do costs and administrative barriers restrict children’s access to the public school system, but the unsafe environment at Egyptian schools also contributes to the deterrence of many refugee children.
An important factor restricting education is the extreme discrimination that many refugee children face when they do attend school.[21] Some parents cited the high risk of bullying, discrimination, and harassment in schools as the reason why they decided not to enroll their children in public schools.[22] Refugee children describe accounts of physical, verbal, and sexual harassment from both students and teachers.[23] Egyptian authorities also systematically fail to properly investigate allegations of sexual abuse against refugees in schools.[24] Such pervasive barriers to education for refugee children is a human rights violation.
B. Human Rights Violated by Denying Access to Education
Article 13 of the ICESCR enumerates every person’s right to a free education during the fundamental primary stages which shall be directed toward the full development of the human personality.[25] Further, Article 13 emphasizes that “education shall enable all persons to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic, or religious groups.”[26] The bureaucratic and economic barriers to public education for refugee children clearly violate the human right to education. Egypt is a state party to the ICESCR as they signed the Covenant in 1967 and ratified it in 1982.[27] Therefore, Egypt must guarantee the right to education for all children without discrimination and irrespective of legal status.[28] Unfortunately, this lack of access to education has many negative impacts on the development and well-being of refugee children and families in Egypt.
III. Discussion
Depriving children of education, especially refugee children, produces negative outcomes in mental health, development, and future opportunities for higher education and advancement.[29] For these reasons, education for refugees must be protected. Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are working to improve access to education by providing grants, educational materials, and teacher training focused on promoting social integration and resilience.[30] This is especially important right now as the Egyptian parliament recently introduced a draft bill that would have impacts on education for refugee students.[31]
A. The Impact of a Lack of Education on Refugee Children
Access to quality and stable education is a crucial factor in youth mental health, but even more so for refugee children.[32] Supportive school environments provide students with stability and routine, as well as play and peer interaction that aids in social and psychological development.[33] Refugee children who have been traumatically displaced from their home country especially need the stability and safety of a supportive school environment, but unfortunately, many children in Egypt continue to suffer while isolated in their homes all day.[34] Additionally, refugee children missing out on education are more likely to feel marginalized and hopeless.[35] Refugee children with restricted educational opportunities and ongoing feelings of discrimination and unsafety experience worse mental health outcomes.[36] However, the negative outcomes refugee children experience as a result of education restriction are not limited to mental health.
An extended gap in a child’s education severely disrupts normal development and has grave consequences on a child’s future.[37] These risks are heightened for girls as they face increased restriction in access to education.[38] Only one percent of refugee children go on to receive secondary and post-secondary education, compared with thirty-four percent of the rest of the population.[39] Educational delay and deprivation have lasting negative impacts on literacy, employment opportunities, and socioeconomic achievement.[40]
B. Legislative and Humanitarian Efforts to Improve Access to Education
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works with Egypt’s Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MoETE) and many NGOs to improve access to quality education for refugee children.[41] UNICEF’s work with MoETE involves expanding the capacity of the public education system to address the needs of the expanding refugee population.[42] Additionally, UNICEF partners with NGOs to provide community-wide support, including education cash grants, educational materials, and teacher training focused on life skills that promote social integration and resilience.[43]
In November 2024, the Egyptian parliament approved a bill that would guarantee the right to essential education for refugees.[44] “Essential education” includes primary and lower secondary education (known in the United States as first grade through ninth grade).[45] The provision of rights protected in the legislation, like education, does not match the language of the United Nations and African refugee conventions.[46] Instead, this legislation largely narrows several basic rights.[47] Further, human rights groups argue that this proposed legislation does not meet international standards.[48] Many NGOs are concerned that the bill’s proposals are incompatible with the most vital international refugee protection conventions and the UNHCR.[49] The bill also does not guarantee the right to education for asylum seekers granted temporary protection until their status is resolved.[50] Importantly, the bill also excludes asylum seekers from access to other basic human rights, such as health care and housing.[51] Finally, the draft bill does not encourage the integration of refugees into society and local communities.[52] In response to the draft bill, a group of twenty-two NGOs filed a joint statement regarding their concerns and the risks posed by passing the legislation.[53]
The NGOs against the proposed legislation suggest avenues for revising the bill through a more inclusive and transparent process, as the current bill was drafted without much knowledge or engagement from outside bodies.[54] The NGOs opposed to the legislation request a meaningful debate on the draft law, allowing perspectives from experts, relevant bodies, and members of parliament.[55] Ultimately, the goal of the debate would be to introduce a new bill containing articles that protect the rights of refugees and adhere to international standards.[56] The NGOs also emphasize the need for more transparent and clearer provisions regarding the mechanisms by which the committee proposed in the bill will operate.[57] Lastly, while this new committee is set up, a temporary plan must be in place to guarantee the continuous provision of existing services to refugees.[58]
The law does not comply with international legal obligations and does not include human rights safeguards for all refugees.[59] The President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, signed the draft bill into law on December 17, 2024.[60] However, UNHCR and Egyptian civil society groups remain against the new legislation.[61]
IV. Conclusion
Egypt’s failure to provide adequate education to refugee children violates the human right to a free education during the primary stages. Unfortunately, this lack of basic education will likely continue as Egypt recently passed legislation that further violates basic human rights for refugees. The benefits of a stable and safe educational environment cannot be understated, but these benefits are even more crucial for refugee children experiencing extreme trauma and uncertainty. Understanding the gravely negative lifetime outcomes that children face when there are restrictions to education, Egypt’s legislators should pay serious attention to the recommendations offered by UNHCR and several regional NGOs voicing concern over the new legislation. Most important among these recommendations is the suggested revision of the bill after consulting the relevant outside bodies and experts and ultimately including additional provisions to protect refugee rights.
[1] Egypt: Education Restricted for Refugees, Hum. Rts. Watch (Dec. 2, 2024, 12:30 AM), https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/02/egypt-education-restricted-refugees [https://perma.cc/RCX5-PFUZ] (estimated by the United Nations Children’s Fund and current as of October 2024).
[2] This blog uses the term “refugee” to include both refugees and asylum-seekers.
[3] Refugee Context in Egypt, UNHCR (Mar. 19, 2025), https://www.unhcr.org/eg/about-us/refugee-context-in-egypt [https://perma.cc/3DDV-PTSV].
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] Egypt: Education Restricted for Refugees, supra note 1.
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Id.
[17] Id.
[18] Id.
[19] Id.
[20] Id.
[21] Id.
[22] Id.
[23] Id.
[24] Id.
[25] International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, art. 13, Dec. 16, 1966, 993 U.N.T.S. 3.
[26] Id.
[27] Id.
[28] Egypt: Education Restricted for Refugees, supra note 1.
[29] John Thomas & Dorothy Stubbe, Psychiatric, Epigenetic, Legal, and Public Health Challenges Facing Refugee Children: An Integrated Approach, 36 Quinnipiac L. Rev. 635, 660 (2018).
[30] Education, UNICEF (Mar. 19, 2025), https://www.unicef.org/egypt/education#:~:text=Education%20in%20Emergencies,of%20refugee%20and%20vulnerable%20children [https://perma.cc/H889-36ZM].
[31] Egypt: Education Restricted for Refugees, supra note 1.
[32] Id.
[33] Id.
[34] Id.
[35] Thomas & Stubbe, supra note 29 at 660.
[36] Id. at 663.
[37] Id. at 661.
[38] Id. at 660.
[39] Ziba Vaghri et al., Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Children: Interrupted Child Development and Unfulfilled Child Rights, 6 Children 120, 5 (2019).
[40] Id.
[41] Education, supra note 30.
[42] Id.
[43] Id.
[44] Egypt: Education Restricted for Refugees, supra note 1.
[45] Id.
[46] Egypt: Asylum Bill Threatens Refugee Rights, Hum. Rts. Watch (Dec. 17, 2024, 12:01AM), https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/17/egypt-asylum-bill-threatens-refugee-rights [https://perma.cc/55KC-U8HT].
[47] Id.
[48] Egypt: Education Restricted for Refugees, supra note 1.
[49] متوفر بالعربية, 22 NGOs in a Joint Statement: Grave Risks Posed by the Passing of Proposed Foreign Asylum Bill, Egyptian Initiative for Pers. Rts. (Nov. 15, 2024), https://eipr.org/en/press/2024/11/22-ngos-joint-statement-grave-risks-posed-passing-proposed-foreign-asylum-bill [https://perma.cc/FKC9-7SJC].
[50] Id.
[51] Id.
[52] Id.
[53] Id.
[54] Id.
[55] Id.
[56] Id.
[57] Id.
[58] Id.
[59] Egypt: Asylum Bill Threatens Refugee Rights, supra note 46.
[60] Id.
[61] Id.
