Laura Poy Solano
La Jornada newspaper
Friday, October 3, 2025, p. 15
Although the population displaced in Latin America and the Caribbean rises to 20.3 million people, the majority with academic training and professional experience, only between 10 and 20 percent manage to revalidate their educational credentials, alerts the Unesco International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC).
In a new regional technical report, while 43 percent of the world’s population has access to higher education, only 7 percent of refugees get it. However, in the region that figure goes from 2 to 12 percent, depending on the country and the immigration status.
The document Recognition of qualifications of refugees and displaced in Latin America and the Caribbean He estimates that about 18 percent of migrants have university education, but only 6 percent manages to formally validate their studies.
Different context
It emphasizes that in Latin America, most nations have regulatory frameworks for the revalidation of foreign titles, they were mostly designed for ordinary migratory contexts, without considering the exceptional situations faced by refugees and displaced.
As an example, the case of Venezuela, since it is estimated that since 2015 to date more than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left their country, which represents “the greatest immigration crisis in the recent history of the region”, since it is estimated that 6.8 million are located in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The report highlights that the main obstacles they face to revalidate their studies who are forced to leave their country is the lack of formal and verifiable academic documentation, such as titles, certificates of official qualifications or diplomas.
Another challenge is the rigidity of national legal frameworks, given the lack of specific provisions for refugees or displaced, which prevents competent authorities from applying exceptional criteria, even when the international framework allows.
To this are added excessive administrative costs, since the process of academic recognition may imply a series of expenses that for migrants or refugees can be unassumable, such as the legalization of documents in the country of origin, consular certifications, official translations and university administrative tariffs, in addition to digital, linguistic and gender barriers.
