黑料不打烊

Uganda hosts approximately 1.9 million refugees and asylum seekers, making it the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa. This reflects the country’s progressive refugee policy, which grants freedom of movement, access to land and inclusion in national education systems through the . This blog post reflects on what the right to education means in contexts of prolonged displacement, arguing that access to schooling or digital platforms alone is not enough; fulfilling this right depends on how education is experienced in practice amid displacement.

Article 26 of the affirms that ‘everyone has the right to education’. For refugees, access to schooling or digital technologies is often treated as evidence that this right has been fulfilled, even when learners continue to face significant barriers to meaningful participation, reflecting a . Reframing education as a right, rather than a measure of access, shifts attention away from provision alone and towards how education is experienced in practice under conditions of displacement.

What we’ve learned from practice

Our work at the Refugee Law Project (RLP) has shaped our understanding of how technology operates in education in displacement contexts. Implemented with partners at the University of Edinburgh and the American University of Beirut, and with support from the Mastercard Foundation, Foundations for All (FFA) supported refugee and host community learners in Kampala and Kiryandongo in Uganda to prepare for entry into higher education institutions. Three key insights emerged from this work.

First, we learned that learning did not happen simply because technology was present. It happened because digital platforms were embedded in supportive learning environments, with mentors, facilitators, peer support and trusted spaces. Our work on shows that the human dimension remained crucial, and technology worked best when it facilitated learning rather than replaced human connection.

Second, learning was most effective when students were involved in programme design alongside tutors. Students’ ongoing feedback informed adjustments to curriculum pacing, communication practices and digital tools. , where learning arrangements evolved through dialogue rather than predetermined plans, proved especially critical during disruptions such as the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, we learned that refugees exercised considerable agency in navigating technological constraints. Learners and tutors adapted to limited connectivity, inconsistent electricity, and, during Covid-19, a shift from laptops to mobile phones. Decisions about technology use and even non-use were deliberate and pragmatic, shaped by cost, access and wellbeing rather than disengagement. Such adaptive practices have been observed across other displacement settings, reinforcing the case for rather than ideal conditions. This underscores that technology is more effective when it supports learners’ capacity to work within constraints, rather than imposing uniform technical expectations that overlook everyday realities.

‘Technology is more effective when it supports learners’ capacity to work within constraints, rather than imposing uniform technical expectations that overlook everyday realities.’

What we hope to see next

Looking ahead, we hope to see several shifts in how technology is adopted within the refugee education landscape.

First, we hope to see education and digital initiatives place greater emphasis on building and sustaining the human infrastructures around learning, including mentors, facilitators and . Investments in technology should be matched by investments in trusted learning spaces and forms of care that support learners’ wellbeing and sense of safety. When technology is treated as a support for these relationships rather than a substitute for them, educational programmes are more likely to be inclusive, resilient and responsive to the realities of displacement.

Second, . Refugees should be involved in shaping curricula, platforms and evaluation frameworks from the outset. Too often, refugee education programmes are designed for refugees rather than with them. Participatory approaches offer powerful ways to surface alternative educational possibilities. Those experiencing displacement possess crucial insights about what makes education meaningful, sustainable and connected to their aspirations.

Finally, we hope to see and more as a means to support connection, care and collective aspirations within contexts of constraint. Education, at its best, enables people not only to adapt to the world as it is but to imagine and work towards the world as it could be. For refugees, whose lives are so often defined by externally imposed limits, this imaginative capacity is not a luxury. It is a right; one that technology should serve, not diminish.