Exploring the experiences of forcibly displaced people in higher education: a case study on Brazil

全世界只有3%的难民有机会接受高等教育，而全球更广泛人口的入学率为37%。2019年，联合国难民事务高级专员办事处（UNHCR）发布了最新的教育战略，目标是到2030年实现至少15%的难民接受高等教育。与此同时，《2030年可持续发展议程》设定了“确保包容和公平的优质教育，促进全民终身学习机会”的目标（联合国，2015年）。在这一背景下，巴西作为拉丁美洲最大和人口最多的国家，过去十年来庇护申请数量急剧上升。从2018年到2019年，被国家难民委员会确认为难民的人数增长了2,000%以上（MJSP和OBMigra，2021）。这一增长是由现代历史上最严重的人道主义危机之一引发的，这场危机促使300多万委内瑞拉公民逃离他们的国家。其中，近158，000人在巴西寻求庇护（难民署，2021年）。在高等教育方面，巴西是经合组织国家中高等教育获得率最低的国家之一，因此，进入大学对其国民来说是一个挑战（经合组织，2021年）。尽管存在经济、政治和教育方面的障碍，巴西的一些大学还是采取了主动行动，为流离失所者接受高等教育提供便利。这方面的一个重要例子是难民署塞尔希奥·比埃拉·德梅洛教席，迄今为止，该教席汇集了29所巴西大学，通过量身定制的招生程序和入学配额，为增加流离失所者接受高等教育的机会做出了贡献（Jubilut，2020年）。考虑到巴西最近的移民事件的影响，以及许多流离失所者来自受过教育或专业背景，本研究将探讨流离失所学生在该国接受高等教育的经历。关于这一主题的实证研究很少，但在理解大学在流离失所背景下的作用以及它们如何更好地支持难民学生方面非常需要。这项研究将有助于更好地了解决定难民在巴西接受高等教育的能力的个人和背景情况，以及需要何种额外支持来提高他们的学术经验。这种理解对于制定新的强化战略以实现可持续发展目标4和难民署15/30目标至关重要。此外，分析巴西的情况是了解拉丁美洲流离失所动态和应对这一地区面临的挑战的关键。这项研究将产生重要和必要的经验数据，可能有助于大学，政府和国际组织制定简化的循证政策，使更多的难民能够进入巴西和整个拉丁美洲的大学，并通过提供更多的支持来改善他们的学术经验。

Only 3% of refugees worldwide have access to higher education, whilst the global access rate for the wider population is 37%. In 2019, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released its latest education strategy, with a target known as "15by30", which aimsto achieve at least 15% enrolment of refugees in tertiary education by 2030. In parallel, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development set the goal to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all" (United Nations, 2015). Within this context, Brazil, the largest and most populated country in Latin America, has seen a drastic rise in the number of asylum requests in the last decade. From 2018 to 2019, the number of people recognised as refugees by the National Committee for Refugees grew by more than 2,000% (MJSP & OBMigra, 2021). This increase was triggered by one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history, which prompted over three million citizens of Venezuela to flee their country. Of these, almost 158,000 sought refuge in Brazil (UNHCR, 2021). In terms of higher education, Brazil has one of the lowest tertiary attainment rates among OECD countries and, therefore, accessing universities represents a challenge to its own nationals (OECD, 2021). Despite the economic, political and educational obstacles, some Brazilian universities have engaged in initiatives to facilitate the access of displaced persons to higher education. A key example of this is the UNHCR Sergio Vieira de Mello Chair, which brought together 29 Brazilian universities so far, and contributed to enhancing the access of displaced persons to higher education through tailored admissions processes and entry quotas (Jubilut, 2020). Given the impact of the latest migratory events in Brazil and that many displaced persons come from educated or professional backgrounds, this research will explore the experiences of displaced students when accessing and navigating higher education in thiscountry. Empirical research on this topic is scarce, but much needed in comprehending the role of universities in the context of displacement, and how they can better support refugee students. This study will contribute to a greater understanding of the individual and contextual circumstances that determine the ability of refugees to access higher education in Brazil, and what sorts of additional support are needed to enhance their academic experience. Such comprehension is crucial to develop new enhanced strategies to achieve both SDG4 and UNHCR 15 by 30 target. Additionally, analysing the Brazilian case is key to understanding displacement dynamics in Latin America and tackling the challenge that it represents in this region. This research will generate important and necessary empirical data that will potentially help universities, governments and international organisations to develop streamlined evidence-based policies which will allow a greater number of refugees to access universities in Brazil, and in the whole of Latin America, and to improve their academic experiences through the provision of enhanced support.