Who We Are

At the end of 2021, UNHCR estimated that 89.3 million people were forcibly displaced, including over 27 million refugees. 83% of refugees are hosted by low- and middle-income countries where local integration prospects remain limited or non-existent. University-aged refugees dreaming about continuing their education find very few opportunities accessible to them and only 6% of the world’s refugees access higher education, compared to a global average of 40%. 

The Global Task Force on Third Country Education Pathways (GTF) promotes and supports the expansion of tertiary education as a complementary pathway for refugee students. Increasing the number of higher education pathways will not only help grow the number of refugees enrolled in higher education to 15% by 2030, as set forth in the Refugee Education 2030: A Strategy for Refugee Inclusion but also pursue the renovated goals of the Third Country Solutions for Refugees: Roadmap 2030 as the next phase of The Three-Year Strategy (2019-2021) on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways.

The GTF achieves this by:

• Convening relevant stakeholders to advocate for an increase in complementary education pathways programmes globally.

• Coordinating a Global Community of Practice (CoP) on Third Country Education Pathways to share best practices and lessons learnt and facilitate collaboration in setting up complementary education pathways. 

• Supporting the development of pilot programmes and sustainable funding models.

• Developing tools and resources in collaboration with members of the GTF and CoP to support the design, implementation, and expansion of tertiary education as a complementary pathway for refugees. 

• Promoting minimum standards for the design of complementary education pathways and providing assistance and capacity building to ensure new and existing programmes meet these standards.

Global Task Force members include representatives of states, regional and international bodies, the private sector, NGOs, refugee representatives, UN agencies and donors who are engaged in or supporting complementary education pathways and are committed to expanding tertiary education opportunities as a durable solution for refugee students.   

To learn more about membership in the GTF and how to support our mission, please contact the GTF Secretariat through the contact form.