{
  "id": 11536519,
  "title": "UN says 5.8mil refugee children out of school",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/un-says-5-8mil-refugee-children-out-of-school-11536519",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-02T21:37:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/10/03/un-says-5-8mil-refugee-children-out-of-school"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The UN refugee agency UNHCR has reported that 5.8 million refugee children were out of school in 2025, a figure that could worsen due to funding cuts. UNHCR revealed that 44% of the world's 13.1 million school-age refugee children were not in school last year. Education is crucial, as it serves as protection and a pathway to opportunity and self-reliance, according to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih. However, severe cuts to humanitarian and development financing are threatening to reverse decades of investment and deny opportunities to a generation of young people. Former Iraqi President Barham Salih emphasized that education had given him opportunities that displacement otherwise might have denied. While 65% of refugee children aged between 6 and 10 were enrolled in primary education in 2025, only 32% were enrolled in secondary school. Tertiary education enrollment for refugees reached a record high of 11%. UNHCR data showed that its funding had dropped from $5.2 billion in 2024 to $3.9 billion in 2025, while the number of people it protects has reached historically high levels. The agency required $8.5 billion this year to continue providing protection services, but as of July, it had only received 32% of that amount, amounting to $2.7 billion. Nearly 8.3 million refugees and other forcibly displaced individuals faced losing essential assistance from UNHCR as protection services crumble due to the severe funding cuts.",
  "summary": "UN refugee chief Barham Salih says cuts to education funding risk reversing decades of investment, limiting opportunities for young people.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "UN says 5.8mil refugee children out of school",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/un-says-5-8mil-refugee-children-out-of-school",
        "published": "2026-10-02T21:37:33.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}