ABSTRACT
The Rohingyas, an ethnic minority of Myanmar, have been denied human rights, including nationality. For decades, they have suffered from brutal oppression, discrimination, violence, torture, unjust prosecution, murder, and extreme poverty. Hostile situations in Rakhine State have forced the Rohingyas to flee from their homes and seek refuge in neighboring Bangladesh and other countries, including India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and even distant Saudi Arabia. Many of the Rohingya refugees are children who escaped from their homeland with traumatic experiences and memories. In Bangladesh, the Rohingya children live in desperate conditions in overcrowded, makeshift refugee camps. They are exhausted, frustrated, and poorly nourished, and they have been battling diseases, including Covid-19, as their conditions have become more challenging and volatile. This article explores the historical context of this crisis and analyzes, from the human rights perspective, issues associated with the Rohingyas' displacement and the impact it has had on the Rohingya children.
ABSTRACT
This article is based on a critical review of the Learning Competency Framework and Approach (LCFA) developed for providing education to the Rohingya refugee children living in refugee camps in Bangladesh. A sectoral approach was adopted to develop the LCFA under the leadership of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). To review the LCFA, a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis was used as an analytical tool. The SWOT analysis showed that the major strengths of the LCFA include its emphasis on pedagogical aspects, the inclusion of content on life skills, and the scope of engaging communities in the implementation phase. However, the major limitations of the LCFA comprised of lack of contents on post-traumatic mental wellbeing, child abuse, trafficking, and technology. In addition, the volume of content seemed too heavy concerning the duration of the levels. It was not clear if the LCFA was a research-based output, other than consultations. Several challenges were identified by this critical review in implementing the LCFA in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. These include a lack of understanding of the Rohingya children's needs, including historical, physical (both geographical and infrastructural), and livelihood, the barrier to comprehending their language and culture, and existing resource constraints for implementing this framework. Considering the Rohingya people's perspectives, this review makes suggestions to ensure the whole education process becomes more operational, effective, successful and sustainable.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This article reports part of a study focusing on young people's transition from the nonformal to the formal education sector, and explores how the experiences of children and young people in remote formal and nonformal schools affect their awareness of issues of health, well-being and the environment. One of the main objectives of Bangladeshi extensive nonformal primary education, run by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in parallel with the formal system, is to prepare children outside schools to enter or re-enter the formal education sector. The study addresses the issue of educational relevance from pupils' perspectives and looking at the implications for pupil transition between these two sectors. METHOD: Interviews and observations of students and their classes were conducted in two contrasting rural high schools in different areas of Bangladesh, and their feeder primary schools. RESULTS: Where formal primary graduates focus more in high school on learning from their textbooks, nonformal primary graduates aim to put their knowledge into practice in their day-to-day life on a range of critical issues. CONCLUSION: The results suggest an important contrast between nonformal and formal education sectors regarding students' agency and knowledge of health and well-being, hygiene and environmental awareness in rural Bangladesh.
