In Malaysia, where refugees lack formal legal recognition and face severe structural barriers to public services and employment, fewer than 1.3% of university-age refugee youth are enrolled in higher education. While existing literature focuses predominantly on systemic exclusion, this report shifts the focus to the perseverance, adaptability, and agency of refugee youth. Drawing on 31 in-depth interviews with refugee youth, 10 interviews with parents, and 12 key informant interviews across Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley, authors Hnin and Nija Amir examine how educational aspirations are formed and sustained. The study reveals how family, community, peer networks, and individual determination interact with informal support systems, including Community Learning Centres (CLCs), private higher education institutions (HEIs), and non-governmental support programmes, to assemble educational pathways. The report concludes with seven practical recommendations for NGOs, CLCs, HEIs, and funders to strengthen community-based solutions, expand pre-university bridging programmes, and broaden equitable access to higher education.
