Refugee Integration and Building Cohesion in Ugandan Mainstream Schools: Insights from a Case Study

• In Event: From Access to Belonging: Education Policy and Practice for Refugees and Migrants

Proposal

Uganda is home to approximately 1.9 refugees and asylum-seeks as of 31st July 2025) - with projections estimating a rise to 2 million by the end of the year. This positions Uganda as Africa’s largest refugee-hosting nation and one of the world’s top hosts (Government of Uganda & UNHCR 2025). Children constitute 57% of this refugee population. In the education sector, many refugee children are enrolled in host-community schools due to insufficient facilities within refugee settlements. This paper draws on a study conducted in October 2022, building upon a 2017 learning assessment that evaluated literacy and numeracy skills among refugee and host community children in four refugee-hosting districts in Uganda. The earlier learning assessment uncovered broader challenges, including instances where public schools in host communities enrolled more refugee children than nationals – sometimes reaching a 70% refugee ratio. This prompted a follow-up investigation into the challenges these schools faced from high refugee intakes and their strategies for integrating learners from diverse backgrounds.

Focusing on a case study of four schools in a district hosting one of Uganda’s largest refugee populations, the 2022 study examined school management, resource utilisation, language diversity, teaching and learning processes and children’s experiences – regardless of their residence status. Key aspects included children’s ability to speak up, participate in class, feel safe in school and en route, and feel valued.

Employing a mixed-methods approach with a descriptive survey design, the study involved 514 participants: 448 learners from Primary 3-6 (P3-P6), 60 parents, 4 head teachers, 7 community leaders, 2 education officials and 1 development agency representative. Data collection tools comprised learner questionnaires, and key informant interview guides (for teachers, parents, education officials, community leaders and development partner representatives). The study yielded several key findings related to integration and cohesion:

(1) Schools grappled with severe teacher shortages, resulting in oversised classes that hindered meaningful pupil-teacher interactions and accommodation for diverse learner needs.
(2) Most refugee and non-refugee children reported equitable participating in school activities, feeling safe in school and during commutes, freedom to voice concerns, and a sense of value – suggesting schools viewed learner diversity as an asset.
(3) Reading competencies were low across all learners, irrespective of refugee status.
(4) The language of instruction deviated from Uganda’s official policy mandating mother tongue or a familiar language in early grades, due to the multilingual student body.
(5) Without refugee learners, these schools would lack essential resources and facilities.

From these findings, several conclusions emerge. First, host community schools demonstrate responsiveness to refugee children. Local communities have allocated land for infrastructure development with partner support; schools incorporate assistant teachers beyond mere translation roles; all visited schools adopted English as the medium of instruction from early grades; they included refugee parents on Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs); leadership roles were distributed equitably; and school ethos fostered cohesion.

Second, refugee learners’ presence has yielded benefits, such as enhanced infrastructure, higher enrolments (boosting capitation grants), increased teaching and learning resources, greater appreciation for diversity, and innovative instructional methods like accelerated learning models.

Additionally, a significant majority of learners – nationals and refugees alike – perceived school environments as inclusive, enabling equal participation and open expression of concerns. However, challenges persist, including strained physical infrastructure, dilemmas in implementing language-in-education policies, and occasional community tensions spilling into schools.

Based on these insights, the paper recommends targeted investments in literacy and numeracy programs to improve foundational skills for all children; resolving language policy challenges in refugee-hosting contexts; and prioritising sustainability measures to preserve the positive impacts of refugee integration in mainstream schools.

Author

• Mary Goretti Nakabugo, Uwezo Uganda