This study is about Unaccompanied Refugee Children (URC) living in Kam-pala, their foster parents, and their experiences of accessing primary educa-tion. The study aims to share experiences of Unaccompanied Refugee Chil-dren (URC) and their foster parents, living in Kampala, outside the refugee settlement areas. Using the sociological concepts of vulnerability, access, and right to education as part of enhancing capabilities, the study combined these lenses through which the experiences of URC and their foster parents were analysed and better understood. The study included both those who were in primary school, and those who were not attending primary school. To have a clearer understanding of the challenges, obstacles and strategies that enable, or do not enable, URC to access primary education, several sets of perspec-tives were explored. These included the points of view of foster parents, teachers, and of the children themselves, first about the Ugandan primary ed-ucation system, and second about these children’s experiences within this sys-tem. I narrowed down the study area to a renowned slum area in the centre of Kampala, Kisenyi. This area has a predominantly refugee population, an es-timated 95 per cent of the total. I conducted a qualitative study through the use of focus group discussion with children, and individual interviews to col-lect more data. One key finding was a clear distinction between making school places available for URC and ensuring their ability to access such places and do well in school. Others key findings are that poverty is the main obstacle to access for those URC not in primary school. Language barriers were also significant. Some participants suggested formal mainstream school did not meet their practical, job-seeking ambitions. Overall the study finds partners involved, including government, NGOs and support organisations, could more effectively cooperate to support the URC and foster parents. The government may need to revisit the Refugee Act of 2006, so this group of children can also be assisted in urban areas, to enjoy their right to primary education, and not only in the formal refugee settlements.

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Hintjens, Helen
hdl.handle.net/2105/38081
Social Justice Perspectives (SJP)
International Institute of Social Studies

Egwalu, Robert. (2017, March 31). Access of Unaccompanied Refugee Children to Primary Education in Kisenyi, Kampala: Vulnerabilities, Rights and Experiences. Social Justice Perspectives (SJP). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2105/38081