Refugee Education: The State of Nigeria's Preparedness

The spate of insurgences and conflicts in the country and around the sub-region has led to the increased presence of refugees and Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Nigeria. This has resultant challenges on the basic needs of refugees and IDPs at different levels. One of the highest priorities of refugees and IDPs communities is education. Nigeria is obviously struggling to provide basic education for her citizens hence the emergence of refugees and IDPs and their need for education put a double burden on the nation's education system. Sections of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Fundamental Human Rights; 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees, 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, and 1990 Declaration of World Conference on Education for All call for no discrimination in the education of men, women and children irrespective of status; compulsory and free education for all and the right to education in emergencies. These are supposed to be the policies and implementation guidelines for ratifying countries. Observations show that, in spite of the challenging situation, there is little evidence of the commitment by the Nigerian government through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to the education of refugees and IDPs. In cases where some levels of provisions are available, the quantity and quality of such provisions needs improvements. Since there is no guarantee that refugees problems will end soon, this paper examines the available provisions and institutional approaches for the education of refugees and IDPs in Nigeria; analyses the level of Nigeria's preparedness for providing education for refugees and IDPs persons; and makes propositions for meeting this peculiar global reality.