/ / It is worth reiterating, that from the outset some states reserve the right to formal public education to citizens only. In these cases, the principal reason that stateless children are excluded is directly linked to lack of citizenship. In other instances, states may allow access to formal public education or may offer flexible admission policies for children unable to comply with registration criteria, including stateless children. However, a birth certificate is usually still the minimum requirement to facilitate the school registration process and enable a child to enrol. This means that, despite clear international standards that stipulate primary education should be compulsory and free (and consequently absent of any impediments that may result in the contrary), the first barrier stateless children face when trying to register for school, occurs due to their lack of legal documentation. Obstacles along the educational journey Birth registration – particularly the issuance of birth certificates – may be denied to stateless communities or unavailable due to several factors including exclusion due to status (i.e. lack of legal status, unrecognized minority, stateless community), discriminatory nationality laws, or discriminatory birth registration procedures in law and practice. Without a birth certificate, other forms of legal identification (e.g., child ID cards) may also be unavailable to stateless children, compounding the problem of lack of documentation. The impact of discrimination - direct and indirect – that lies at the heart of why stateless children experience exclusion from formal education systems cannot be understated. There are both short and long-term ramifications. Stateless children are often left baffled and disillusioned about their identity when they are denied access to school, which may consequently lead to anxiety, depression and a general sense of non-belonging. Their struggles are constant and often combined with other socio-economic challenges which further impact their self-esteem. Without nationality and commonly also without legal identification, stateless children frequently encounter obstacles that block their access to primary level education, with uncertainty increasing in the transitionary period beyond primary school. As a result, stateless children are often undereducated, or uneducated altogether. They are highly unlikely to attain the necessary certifications or qualifications required to advance to tertiary level education, thus negatively impacting their future. This fragmented journey, as illustrated by Nosizi’s story at the opening of this report, can lead to confusion, resentment, broken dreams, and feelings of failure. In addition, because stateless people face restrictions participating in the formal work sector, with many professions often reserved for citizens, their reality – marked by undereducation, a lack of recognized qualifications, and restricted access to certain professions – plays a significant role in the decision to persevere with their education at all, thereby leading to higher dropout rates among stateless children. OBSTACLE 1: ENROLLING IN PRIMARY SCHOOL Even where schools apply a flexible approach and accommodate children without birth registration or legal identification, a lack of safeguards to guarantee continuous access to education for those without documentation nevertheless means stateless children face periodic requests for documentation that they cannot comply with. This leads to disruptions or termination of their education. / OBSTACLE 2: COMPLETING PRIMARY SCHOOL AND ENTERING SECONDARY SCHOOL When transitioning from primary to secondary education, another set of obstacles arise for stateless children. As they enter the stage of “noncompulsory” education, there are several critical junctures that impact a stateless student’s educational progression: • End of Primary School: Most schools require an identity document to register and sit end of primary school exams, which are a pre-requisite to enter high school and also to receive a diploma certifying completion of primary studies. 9