Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
Large numbers of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh camps expressed concern over the ongoing closure of UNICEF learning centers in camps.
Refugees demanded, through Arakan News Agency, the Bangladesh government and UNICEF to work tirelessly to reopen the education centers as soon as possible to preserve their children’s future who are now threatened with deprivation of education.
Rohingya refugees said that closures have caused many problems as kids are now behind in their curriculum and becoming vulnerable to harmful influences and illegal activities, while their hopes for a better future are fading. Education centers closed in early June due to lack of funding.
UNICEF had announced that nearly 230,000 Rohingya children in Bangladeshi camps are at risk of being deprived of education due to a lack of funding. This has forced UNICEF to close centers, lay off teachers, and reduce curricula and activities until funding is restored. This has sparked unrest among Bangladeshi teachers working with the organization.
In its first-quarter report of this year, the organization also warned of a significant funding gap that threatens the continuity of basic services provided to more than one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, including more than 560,000 children, in the areas of nutrition, health, education, and various facilities.
Rohingya children in the camps suffer from a lack of access to quality education and limited opportunities to complete university education. This has prompted a young Rohingya to launch an educational platform with self-help efforts to educate and inform refugees and provide educational content in their language.
There are more than a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, fleeing violence and persecution following a genocidal campaign in Myanmar by the military in 2017. They live in overcrowded tents amid dire living conditions and are completely dependent on aid due to the lack of job opportunities. The United Nations describes the Cox’s Bazar area, where the Rohingya live, as the largest refugee camp in the world.
