Obstacles to higher education Though the majority of the young people consulted expressed a strong desire to graduate from secondary school and attend university, very few had been able to achieve either of these ambitions. In Côte d’Ivoire and the Dominican Republic, passing the national exams at the end of primary school is a prerequisite for admission to high school. However, the ability to sit for such exams is often limited to those who can prove nationality. In Thailand and Italy, attending school after ninth grade is often challenging. In Thailand, although there are no formal barriers to higher education, those interviewed explained how travel restrictions imposed on stateless people in the country and the lack of access to scholarship programmes and student loans reserved for Thai nationals, obstructs their access to higher education. “I get pretty good grades,” says Patcharee (15), a stateless hill-tribe girl in Thailand. “Maybe I am even at the top of the class. But every time there is a scholarship, it is given to someone who has a national ID card.” Her classmate Boon (16), echoes a sentiment expressed by many of the children who were interviewed in all the countries: “It should be the right of every child to study and learn. This is the most important thing.” Negative impact on self-esteem and behaviour ©UNHCR / R. ARNOLD Having to negotiate one’s way through the school system frequently results in delays in starting school or moving on to the next term, putting stateless children and youth several years behind their peers. This will often have an impact on them even after they have been able to confirm their nationality. Maria, a young woman in the Dominican Republic, says: “I was not able to attend school for four years because I didn’t have a birth certificate. When I finally received my birth certificate l was relieved, but also felt like I had lost four years of my life.” Sometimes, arbitrary practices by the authorities leave even children within the same family with different nationality status – and therefore different opportunities. “Some of my siblings have documents and have been able to go to university. I’m from the same parents but I can’t go to university because I don’t have documents,” says Alejandra, a young stateless woman born in the Dominican Republic. A few children have seen their lack of nationality, and inability to attend school, lead to serious social problems. In the case of Edwin (16), a stateless boy of Tamil origin in Malaysia, the impact of being deprived of the discipline and socializing benefits of school was stark. Orphaned at a young age, he grew up in a foster home without proper care or support. Unable to attend school because of the high ‘foreigners fees’ imposed on those without an ID card, he fell in with the wrong crowd and became addicted to drugs and alcohol. Now on the road to rehabilitation, Edwin draws a strong connection between his situation and his lack of nationality: “If I had a document showing that I was a national I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. I probably wouldn’t have mixed with the wrong company and wouldn’t have picked up bad habits. I would be in school and on my way to chasing my dreams of being a football player for Malaysia. I have my own style. It’s called the Edwin style. It’s better than Ronaldo’s style, although he did inspire BOON, it.” 16, THAILAND Edwin, 16, Malaysia. “It should be the right of every child to study and learn. This is the most important thing.” 10 S TAT E L E S S N E S S R E P O R T S TAT E L E S S N E S S R E P O R T 11