Rights group hails Bangladesh move to let Rohingya children access education

Bangladesh has granted Rohingya refugee children access to education in a move hailed by rights group Amnesty International.

Under the government plans, Rohingya refugee children will be schooled up to the age of 14, through the provision of the Myanmar curriculum, the London-based group said in statement on Tuesday.

Children older than 14 will get skills training in line with the move after years of resistance by the government to international pressure for allowing the refugee children to get formal education.

The schools will need adequately trained teachers who can use the Myanmar curriculum and teach in Burmese.

A pilot project led by UNICEF and the Bangladesh government will start off with the involvement of 10,000 children.

The scheme will then be extended to other children, including those from the host community, who will be taught separately according to Bangladesh’s national curriculum.

“The government has felt the need to keep Rohingya children’s hope for the future alive with extending education and skills training to them,” the Amnesty statement quoted Foreign Secretary Masud bin Momen as telling the media.

“This is an important and a very positive commitment by the Bangladeshi government, allowing children to access schooling and chase their dreams for the future. They have lost two academic years already and cannot afford to lose any more time outside a classroom,” said Saad Hammadi, South Asia Campaigner at Amnesty International.

“It is important that access to appropriate, accredited and quality education be extended to all children in the Cox’s Bazar area, including Rohingya refugees and the host community. The international community has a key role to play here in ensuring the Bangladesh government has the resources it needs to realise this goal,” he added.