PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Education: Refugees (14 July 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of covid-19 on the adequacy of the education of refugees in Official Development Assistant-eligible countries.

Asked by:
Dame Harriett Baldwin (Conservative)

COVID-19 is an education crisis as well as a health crisis, particularly for refugee children who, even before this unprecedented global pandemic, made up the largest group of those out of school. Today, we know that refugee education is a major gap in the COVID-19 response. The longer refugee children are out of school, the less likely they are to return, which is why the UK, as a leading donor to education in emergencies, is determined that refugee children should have the opportunity to rebuild their lives and achieve their full potential.

In response the UK has just announced a new £5.3 million commitment to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to enable more than 5500 teachers to provide vital education for refugee children in 10 countries over the crucial next seven months. In April the UK provided an additional £5 million to Education Cannot Wait to keep the most vulnerable children, including refugees, safe and learning during COVID-19. And we will lend our full weight to global efforts, including the UNICEF-led campaign, to ensure all children can return to school when it is safe to do so, including refugee children.

Answered by:
Wendy Morton (Conservative)
22 July 2020