Rohingya children to learn in mother tongue

After being forcibly displaced from their homeland in Rakhine state of Myanmar, it was like a dream for Rohingya children to get the opportunity to learn in their mother tongue.

Considering their limited access to education, the Nippon Foundation donated US$ 2 million, with which Brac has launched a project to ensure educational facilities for the children.

Under the project, Brac will build 50 steel-structured two-storey learning centres at Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar. This project aims to provide education to 8,000 Rohingya children between four to 14 years. The Nippon Foundation is also supporting Brac to operate 100 pre-primary centres for 3,000 host community children aged between five and six.

Having a learning space in the crisis settlements of Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas is crucial. Parents and community engagement will be prioritised to select the location of the centres and they will be established on community premises.

“I visited the camps to see the ground reality. Once there, I found the situation much more serious,” said Chairman of Nippon Foundation, Yohei Sasakawa, “Under such a state, the Bangladesh government is trying to provide humanitarian aid.

“With the partnership with Brac, we will be able to provide more humanitarian support,” he added. Brac Executive Director Asif Saleh said about 55 percent of displaced Rohingyas staying in Cox’s Bazar are children and they have very limited access to education. Apart from facilitating education, he said, this project will support 3,000 children of the host community as they are also very vulnerable and have limited access to education. “Rohingya children will learn in their mother tongue,” he added.

The results of a survey completed in December 2018 on 180,000 Rohingya children ages 4-14 showed the extent of the need for education.