Refugees and public policies at university: a literature review

Abstract

Human displacement is a world historical process, however migration with the aim of becoming refugee assumes a central role in the face of violations of rights that permeated the post-war context. Should be noted that the migrant seeking for refugee is a person in a situation of intense vulnerability, and getting into a university is an important factor for the integration of this population in their country of destination. Higher education contributes to a worthy life for the refugee, since it promotes hospitality, autonomy, freedom and access to rights. Thus, through a literature review, this article aimed to map the public policies and affirmative actions directed to university students in refugee status and reflect on the main obstacles and difficulties found in the experiences described. This study analyzed 20 works about Brazilian universities, including dissertations and papers, that discuss the government and university actions about the entry and permanation of these students. It was concluded that public policies have a fundamental role in the inclusion of refugees and migrants, with emphasis on the Sérgio Vieira de Mello Cathedra (CSVM), a project of the United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR), in partnership with Brazilian and international universities, but with a focus on Brazil, which promotes the access and reception of this population at the university. However, challenges were identified such as the lack of standardization in selection admissions, the concentration of the initiatives mostly in the South and Southeast of Brazil and the low student permanence. It is suggested to standardize the admission processes, promote actions against xenophobia, include the theme of migration in the daily life of the university and continuously evaluate the practices of inclusion and belonging