Education Challenges for the Rohingya Children in Bangladesh

Tania Hossain
Waseda University

Abstract

Education challenges for the Rohingya Children in Bangladesh Dr. Tania Hossain Professor Faculty of Letters, Arts, and Sciences WASEDA UNIVERSITY 1-24-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8644, Japan Telephone: (090) 80569549 (mobile) E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Almost one year have passed 700,000 Rohingya fled violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, education delivery in 27 Refugee camps in Bangladesh remains a significant challenge. This study looks at the main barriers to fulfilling the Right to Education among Rohingya refugees, identifying the key obstacles and proposes recommendations for fulfilling this in the long term. Rohingya people neither understand Bengali dialect nor Bengali people understand Rohingya dialect. Those who do have access to education getting some non-formal education inside the camp. In the camp, they attend sessions for about two hours per day at grade levels far below their age. NGO people are managing those classes. Education is recognized as a universal human right. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) accords that each child has the right to education (UNCRC Article 28). Similarly, the UNHCR guidelines on protection and care for refugee children and young people proclaim to free and compulsory primary education, secondary education (general or vocational) available to all, and higher education “on the basis of capacity”. Educational intervention for refugee children and young people thus must meet appropriate standards of educational opportunities considering possible intersectionality including gender, access, quality, curriculum, relevance, and language. Unfortunately, Rohingya children in Bangladesh are not enjoying that right. This research will provide some solutions to the present problems. The four research questions of this research as follows- Objectives a. What are the policies that the government is taking to protect the education rights of Rohingya children? b. What are the main problems of this policy? ｃ. What kind of education and language policy would be best for Rohingya children? 2The purpose of this research is to describe and examine the present educational situation of Rohingya children in Bangladesh. The emphasis will be on the medium of instructions in terms of language use in the non-formal camp classrooms. This research will provide to the researchers inside from the Rohingya camp of Bangladesh regarding the language and education policy of Rohingya children and also help them to understand the complexities and difficulties that exist in the educational system in Bangladesh. This research may draw the attention of the policy planners to formulate a policy that would support Rohingya children. It is vital to give importance to Rohingya children's language and education policy. As mentioned earlier that very few researchers have focused on the Rohingya children's education policy and practice issue. Most of the researchers focused on education and mental health issue. This research is unique at this point. Key words: Education, human rights, Bangladesh, Rohingya and Policy

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