Bangladesh government must urgently take steps to support the community-led learning facilities in the Rohingya refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, more than two dozen human rights organizations said on Thursday.
The government needs to strengthen their resources in line with the country’s international commitment to protect children’s right to education, according to a statement signed by 25 organizations.
About 30 community-led schools have been shut down or dismantled by the authorities since December 2021, they said.
The signatories include ActionAid, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Arakan Rohingya National Organisation, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), Manusher Jonyo Foundation and Drik Picture Library.
The closure of community learning facilities in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar is “detrimental to the community’s development and a gross violation of children’s right to education”, said the statement, adding that the closure has put them at the risk of becoming a lost generation.
Nearly half a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are children, who constitute 52% of the refugees registered in the camps. “They have been deprived of access to education in an accredited curriculum since they sought refuge in Bangladesh in August 2017,” the statement added.
In January 2020, the government promised to introduce the Myanmar curriculum to about 10,000 children from grades six to nine.
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“The Rohingya community has been offering education to their children through the community schools due to a delay in the rollout of the program by more than two years since Bangladesh’s government announced its plan.
“Rohingya refugees said that some schoolteachers were detained by the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) and released in exchange for signing a paper with the condition that they will stop teaching,” said the statement.
A Rohingya community teacher said: “It is not a crime to teach students and show them the right path in life. It is a basic human right.”
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The rights groups have documented allegations against authorities threatening refugees with confiscating their identity cards and relocation to the remote Bhasan Char island if they violate the ban on operating or attending community-led schools.
“Access to education and other human rights for the Rohingya refugees are as critical as the battle is for justice and accountability for the crimes committed against the Rohingya people. It is pivotal for their right to voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return to their homes in Myanmar,” said the statement.
“All that the community wants is the formal education that will be useful to continue studying in Myanmar,” said a Rohingya youth, whose identity was withheld for his safety.
Education is one of the most important activities that can keep the Rohingya population away from being exploited by harmful groups including child traffickers, drug smugglers, armed groups, and others who sense opportunity in people’s misery, they said.
It is pivotal to empower the Rohingya refugees to claim their rights and speak for themselves. “Loss of critical academic years is not only depriving the community of their educational development, but also increasing their dependency on uncertain humanitarian aid,” the statement added.
The existing learning centres authorized by the government and operated by Unicef and other humanitarian partners offer education to children from four to 14 years of age.
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“The program leaves out the older age groups, some of whom were about to take their matriculation examination at the time of the exodus in 2017.”
The groups asked the government to stop all harassment, threats and attacks against refugees, and avoid any discriminatory policies that affect the right to education of Rohingya children in Bangladesh.
They also demanded a prompt, transparent, impartial and independent investigation into the allegations against members of law enforcement agencies for detaining Rohingya refugees and authorities threatening them with forced relocation to Bhasan Char island for operating schools.
The organizations also called on the United Nations and the international community to urgently engage with Bangladesh’s government to raise concerns about the closure of community-led schools in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and provide support for education for all children in the camps and elsewhere.
They have also asked for adequate allocation and specific funds towards and implement education programs and projects as part of a comprehensive and long-term commitment to support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
The other signatories are Burma Campaign UK, Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan, Burmese Rohingya Community in Denmark, Campaign for a New Myanmar, Canadian Rohingya Development Initiative, COAST Foundation, European Rohingya Council, Fortify Rights, Human Rights Support Society, International Campaign for the Rohingya, Justice4Rohingya UK, Map Photo Agency, Nagorik, Naripokkho, Robert F Kennedy Human Rights, Rohingya Action Ireland and The Arakan Project.
