This article underlines the challenges refugees experience in accessing higher education in both first-asylum and resettlement countries. It focuses specifically on Turkey’s higher education system, and the policies and practices in place to respond to the educational requirements of Syrian refugees. Our analysis reveals that accommodating the influx of Syrian higher education students into the Turkish system presents a huge challenge for policy makers and higher education institutions. The case study conducted at Istanbul University further emphasizes the common barriers that refugees face when trying to access higher education in host countries – financial hardship, language issues, non-recognition of prior learning and a lack of information or guidance. Restrictive regulations and legal precarity, on the other hand, tend to be less of a challenge when it comes to accessing higher education. Our findings support that central regulating body’s immediate action and its commitment to provide higher education for refugees are crucial to prevent a short-term crisis. However, we also argue that despite the flexibility introduced for refugees in the legal and regulatory framework, implementation depends on institutional policies and practices that are mainly constrained by their capacity and resources.

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难民获得高等教育的评估：以土耳其和伊斯坦布尔大学为例

本文着重介绍了难民在第一避难国和安置国接受高等教育所面临的挑战。它特别侧重于土耳其的高等教育系统，以及为回应叙利亚难民的教育要求而制定的政策和做法。我们的分析表明，要让叙利亚的高等教育学生大量涌入土耳其体系，对于政策制定者和高等教育机构来说是一个巨大的挑战。在伊斯坦布尔大学进行的案例研究进一步强调了难民在尝试进入所在国接受高等教育时面临的常见障碍-经济困难，语言问题，对先前学习的不认可以及缺乏信息或指导。另一方面，限制性规定和法律上的不稳定，在接受高等教育方面往往没有那么多挑战。我们的研究结果支持中央监管机构的立即行动及其为难民提供高等教育的承诺，对于防止短期危机至关重要。但是，我们也认为，尽管在法律和法规框架中为难民引入了灵活性，但实施工作仍取决于主要受其能力和资源约束的体制政策和做法。