A record 300,000 Rohingya refugee children had enrolled for the 2023–2024 school year, despite displacement, fires that destroyed learning institutions, and Cyclone Mocha’s devastation, said Unicef today.
Children of all ages who are Rohingya refugees will study using the Myanmar Curriculum for the first time during the new academic year, it also claimed.
For all latest news, follow The My News’s Google News channel. Since its inception in 2021, this formal curriculum has continuously expanded, with grades 3-5 and 10 opening up for the first time in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps today. This has greatly increased learning possibilities for both older and younger pupils, it mentioned.
Besides, in addition to the new opportunities for older children, a dedicated campaign has brought more than 13,000 children who were out of school into the classroom.
Sheldon Yett, Unicef representative of Bangladesh, said, “Rohingya refugee children want to learn, and to turn their hopes and dreams for a better future to actual potential. The single most important ingredient for ensuring a safe and dignified return of these children to Myanmar is ensuring that they can continue their education while they are here in Bangladesh.”
“I urge our partners and donors to stand by Unicef as we deliver on our promise to provide education for every Rohingya refugee child,” he added.
According to Unicef, since parents frequently hesitate to send girls to school once they enter puberty due to social norms, efforts to help adolescent girls in continuing their education are essential to this year’s record attendance.
In order to convince parents of the advantages of educating their daughters, to create classrooms exclusively for girls, and to arrange for female mentors to chaperone students to their lessons, Unicef and its partners have worked closely with the refugee population.
On the first day of school in the camps, Unicef appealed for US$33 million to urgently support education for Rohingya refugee children in the 2023-24 academic year.
