In Belgium, there have been two major decision-making communities for higher education called, Flanders and Wallonia since the late 1980s. Herewith, the focus will be on the report about these two communities, which are also currently taking action for higher education for refugees, and what has been done by them since then (Vaesen, Joost,
& Benjamin, 2014).
Since the late 1980s, decision-making competencies concerning higher education in Belgium have been in the hands of the two communities, Flanders and Wallonia.
Effectively this means that at present, there are two higher education systems in Belgium - the Walloon and the Flemish one. Thus, this report focuses on existing and planned initiatives concerning the provision of higher education to refugees in Flanders The report revolves around an overview of the general situation regarding refugees in Flanders, including data on the process of seeking asylum, as well as basic information about the Flemish higher education system. Hence, it is preceded by the explanation of different initiatives happening, systematically, the recognition of qualifications is also taken into account. The significant findings will be discussed in the conclusion, and the focus will be on the extent to which promising aspects may be transferable to the other higher educational systems (Vukasovic, 2017).
4.1.The general situation regarding refugees in Belgium
In the process of registering a refugee in the higher education in Belgium, there are several agencies cooperating together. The first step is taken by the immigration office (IBZ, federal agency); they register the identification of the asylum applicant through their documentations as well as their fingerprinting records. The second step is to check if the same person has already been registered in another European country or the same person has entered the EU in another country other than Belgium. After this is done, Fedasil (federal agency) takes the responsibility for providing the accommodation in one of the approximately 50 reception centers (Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission in Belgium, 2016).
According to Vukasovic (2017), they are also given material guidance, as well as, social, legal or medical help, and interpreters. These centers also provide support for the children of the asylum seekers for attending schools in the neighborhood. The capacity allocated by Fedasil for accommodation is currently over 30000 people, including 1/3 living in individual households, and 2/3 in the reception centers. After the accommodation is set up, the applicants are invited to participate in an interview held by the Commission General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS), at least once. At this stage the decision is made by CGRS, which if positive, a refugee status can be granted to the asylum seeker, or subsidiary protection status can be granted to him or her. The latter occurs when all required information for refugee status is not available. Being this the case, there is even a chance for the applicant to return to the country of origin. In some cases, CGRS can also refuse to make a decision if, for instance, the applicant is from a member state country, or he or she is from a country considered safe, or whether the refugee has already taken action in another EU country.
4.2. Requirements for entry into the Belgium higher education system
The Flemish higher education system consists of five universities providing study programs in all three cycles, that is bachelor, master and PhD, and 15 university colleges, which are more concerned on higher education in bachelor and master degree. According to Huisman and Mampaey (2017) the 2003 edict on higher education required university colleges to associate with a university to form ‘academixation’ of professional higher education. Five associations have been shaped around the universities of Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Hasselt and Leuven (Vukasovic, 2017).
The study programs are offered in three different categories. First, a diploma contract, which is based on the class based attendance of courses leading to a master or bachelor degree. Second, a credit contract, which is linked to class based attendance of individual courses, not intending to lead to any specific bachelor or master degree. Third an examination contract which just focuses on the exams in order to gain a full degree or credits for individual courses. The diploma contract can be made through a full-time, half time or part-time one, but for non-EEA students, only the full-time diploma contract is
applied. Refugees, who decide to continue their education in higher levels, are considered non-EEA students and, officially speaking, are enrolled as international students. To receive a full-time diploma contract, a student needs to possess sufficient secondary or higher education qualifications, and also he or she is required to accomplish language requirements. If the students are considered refugees, their qualifications regarding their secondary education are mostly subject to a recognition process, which will be discussed in below. Primarily, the language requirements are associated with efficient knowledge of Dutch, due to the fact that almost all bachelor programs, and also the majority of master programs, are presented only in the Dutch language. In the following part, there are some initiatives by the universities, which are particularly addressing the requirement of the language (Vukasovic, 2017).
4.3. The process of qualifications recognition
If refugees are interested in being enrolled in higher education, they are not necessarily required to have their educational certifications recognized by Belgium authorities (i.e.
NARIC). Being this the case, the universities and university colleges have the responsibility to decide which certifications are required for being admitted to the desired programs. Belgium has already approved the Lisbon Recognition Convention (LRC) in 2009 and, therefore, the legislation regulating the recognition of all cycle degrees in Belgium is in line with the principles of the LRC. Still, in 2013, a number of changes to the regulation were applied, in order to facilitate recognition of degrees for refugees (Equivalence of diplomas, 2017).
These changes include rejecting the normal fee for the recognition process for asylum seekers, refugees and persons under subsidiary protection. The fees for usual applicants who are looking for an official statement on correspondence of qualification levels is 90 EUR, for the recognition of Associate, Bachelor, or Master degree 180 EUR, and for the recognition in the doctoral level is 300 EUR. In order to be released from the fee, the refugee students have needed to prove that they have been registered asylum seekers, or they have already had their formal refugee status, or status regarding subsidiary protection approved (Vukasovic, 2017).
Additionally, Belgium authorities also allocate adaptations of the process to facilitate recognition of qualifications in those cases. At first, an expert is chosen to have an interview with the refugee, then he or she will issue an advisory statement about that interview, and after this, the authorities of recognition can decide to equip their recognition decision. In the second level, if the applicants are not capable of providing their full documentations, an adapted procedure is suggested. This adopted procedure, which was actually a pilot project, launched in September 2016 by the Belgium NARIC and also the association of Flemish universities (VLIR). This project gives the permission to the refugees, who are unable to provide their full documentations, to take an alternative path in order to be recognized (UNESCO, 2017).
This path consists of two main parts. First, the applicants are required to participate in a limited number of courses, which are all held in English master discipline and also related to their field of study. Second, they need to attend a seminar or practical training sessions, or they need to write a paper. When these requirements are fulfilled, the academic staff will present their advice regarding the recognition to NARIC, it might be also consisting of advice on how to follow a Belgium degree according to the educational rules of Belgium. Currently, this alternative path is accessible for the refugee students applying for recognition of their master degrees in natural sciences, engineering, economy and business studies. Partly, this is a reflection based on demand – presumably the majority of recognition applications of refugee students are associated with these areas. On the other hand, this is due to the demand of English-language study programs, which, in the Belgium case, are mostly available on the Master level, and just in a limited number of fields (Vukasovic, 2017).