Of exiles and hosts: inbound student surges in South Africa, Chile and Romania in the 2020s, and the contrasting case of Mauritius

Abstract

This article aims to complement and contribute to the discussion of increasingly acute pressures facing Southern Africa’s education systems due to migration trends, by placing such pressures within the broader context of instability across Africa and comparing this with other global conflict- and scarcity-driven migration patterns. Historically, during the Cold War —spanning from the end of World War II to the early 1990s— certain states, such as apartheid-era South Africa, Chile under political polarisation culminating in the 1973-1990 dictatorship, and communist Romania, witnessed repressive regimes forcing citizens into exile. In the wake of subsequent and ongoing conflicts elsewhere, these countries have now evolved into becoming recipients of exiles, a role informed by national reconciliation processes. While they share a common thread of exile and migration, their transitions to educational hosting reveal unique challenges rooted in historical legacies, economic conditions, and policy responses. Meanwhile, Mauritius provides a point of comparison, as what has historically been a place of exile increasingly loses educated people.