Rohingya youngsters in Bangladesh face bleak academic future

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AA) – Rohingya Muslims are finding it hard to educate their children in Bangladesh which hosts more than 1.2 million refugees who fled a brutal military crackdown in their home country’s Rakhine state in August 2017.

Bangladesh considers the Rohingya as displaced citizens of Myanmar and not refugees. So the Rohingya are allowed to educate their children only up to class five or the primary level under the Myanmar curriculum in the Rohingya camps. Learning centers for Rohingya are registered by the office of Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Mojib Ullah, a member of the Rohingya diaspora in Australia and co-founder of the Rohingya Refugee Network (RRN), said that receiving education is the fundamental right of any human being.

“It’s very unfortunate for us that thousands of our boys and girls who studied in our home country of Myanmar have failed to continue their education in Bangladesh. We don’t know how many years we have to wait for repatriation. If it takes a decade more, should all eligible students in our community stop studying?” he questioned.

Regina de la Portilla, communications officer of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told Anadolu Agency that education for Rohingya can benefit both Bangladesh and Myanmar.

“If they are educated, they can serve the host country until repatriation, and they will also serve their home country after returning,” said Portilla.

She said education is a basic right for every human being across the globe. Anyone can desire to study as much as they wish.

“We, as part of the United Nations, are talking to both the Bangladesh and Myanmar governments to hold a dialogue to solve the crisis through meaningful repatriation,” Portilla added.