Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Egyptian authorities to remove bureaucratic registration barriers that are preventing tens of thousands of refugee and asylum-seeking children from accessing education. With Egypt hosting a rapidly increasing number of refugees, especially from Sudan, HRW is calling on the government to immediately ensure that all refugee children can attend school.
As of November, Egypt is home to 834,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), a number that has more than doubled in the wake of Sudan’s ongoing conflict. The war, which erupted in April 2023, has displaced millions, with over 3 million people seeking refuge outside Sudan’s borders. Many have sought safety in Egypt, where the real refugee population is likely even higher than the UNHCR’s official figures, with more than 1.2 million Sudanese refugees reported to have fled to Egypt.
One of the key challenges faced by refugee children in Egypt is the government’s requirement for proof of residency in order to enrol in public schools. As a result, many refugees, particularly those without legal residency status, are unable to access education. HRW’s study found that about half of the 246,000 refugee children in Egypt were not enrolled in school as of October. Furthermore, the situation is worsening, with an estimated 9,000 refugee children arriving every month—many of whom are not able to attend school.
HRW’s Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director, Bassam Khawaja, emphasized the severe impact that barriers to education can have on children, saying, “Many refugee and asylum-seeking children in Egypt have found the school doors firmly shut, depriving tens of thousands of their fundamental right to education.” Khawaja warned that these barriers could have long-lasting consequences for an entire generation, pointing to the broader humanitarian damage caused by similar obstacles in other refugee crises.
HRW is urging Egypt’s government to lift these barriers immediately and provide educational opportunities for all refugee children, regardless of their residency status. The international community, HRW also stated, must urgently support educational funding to help address the growing crisis and ensure that displaced children are not deprived of their right to education.
