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Over the past few months, cuts in foreign aid from many countries, especially from the US since Donald Trump took office, have made the life of some of the most vulnerable people around the world even more challenging.
Today, let’s look at how the funding cuts have led to shutting down thousands of schools for Rohingya children living in refugee camps in Bangladesh.
More than a million Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh from atrocities by the Myanmar military. Currently, the junta in Myanmar is fighting against the Arakan Army. The Rohingya have been targeted by both sides.
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh live in refugee camps in the Cox’s Bazar district and on the island of Bhasan Char.
They are not allowed to live outside the camps, and their children are prohibited from enrolling in regular public or private schools in Bangladesh. Children are growing up in camps where the only education available are informal classes, taught either at “learning centers” run by humanitarian agencies, or at schools established by teachers amongst the Rohingya community.
More than 300,000 children benefited from tuition-free classes at the “learning centers” run by NGOs. Those who can afford it attend community-led classes, which the community sees as providing better quality education.
Far more Rohingya students at community-led schools reach upper-secondary school. However, under Bangladesh’s policies, no Rohingya child can access accredited education, or attend university. Many Rohingya students and teachers said the lack of accreditation and pathways to higher education led to high dropout rates in the camps. Others dropped out due to the risk of abduction by armed groups and criminal gangs in the camps.
But now, even that imperfect education system isn’t available to them. Because of funding cuts, the humanitarian education sector has closed thousands of the learning centers. The community-led schools remain open, but Bangladesh does not recognize them, and therefore they are ineligible to receive any of support from humanitarian NGOs or the UN. They charge small fees and pay the teachers little, but they remain small-scale and unaffordable for many.
Regardless of their migration status, all children have a right to quality education. Following the shutdown of the learning centers and given the higher quality of education in the community-led schools, the Bangladeshi authorities should formally recognize those schools, and accredit and certify Rohingya children’s education, while donors and the UN should include Rohingya teachers in education decision-making and leadership roles.
It’s urgent to lift the barriers to Rohingya children’s education, allow funding to come in for community-led education in the camps, and to prevent a whole generation of children from being deprived of their fundamental right to education.
