Only Bangladesh denies formal education to refugees: Unesco

Among the top ten countries hosting the highest number of refugees, only Bangladesh so far has no formal education programmes for the Rohingyas, said Unesco. 

The country responded to the refugee crisis with non-formal education service delivery. It encouraged humanitarian efforts and sensitized local authorities before the massive influx began in 2017, it added in the remarks to the Global Education Monitoring Report Summary 2019.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) recommended the Bangladeshi government to include the refugees in the national education system.     

Unesco published this year's report with the theme "Migration, Displacement and Education: Building Bridges, Not Walls," on Thursday in Dhaka. 

Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni attended as the chief guest on the occasion while Deputy Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel was present as the special guest. Senior Secretary of the education ministry Sohrab Hossain presided over the function. 

According to Amnesty International, the world's top ten refugee hosting countries are Bangladesh, Germany, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Jordan, Ethiopia and Uganda.

Between late August 2017 and early May 2018, nearly 8 lakh Rohingya refugees arrived in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, resulting a total of 1.2 million Rohingyas being hosted in the country.  

Disparities dominate education service delivery    

According to the Unesco report, the annual average spending on education was $4.7 trillion worldwide in 2014. Mainly, governments, donors and households finance for this basic right.     

The Unesco report estimates that the high income countries spent 65 percent of the grand total in 2014, while the low income countries spent only 0.5 percent. Surprisingly, the two groups had almost equal number of school-age children. 

Governments accounted for 79 percent of the total spending, while households spent 21 percent. 

Donor agencies provided 12 percent of total education expenditure in low-income countries while the lower-middle income countries received two percent education allowance. Moreover, the shortage of trained and qualified primary school teachers is severe in the low and lower-middle income countries. 

The report said natural disasters also hinder education service delivery in Bangladesh as, on average, 900 schools get damaged in calamities every year.

Munshi Sahab Uddin Ahmed, secretary of the education ministry, Monzur Hossain, deputy secretary general of Bangladesh National Commission for Unesco, and other top government officials were also present at the programme.

Education consultant Talat Mahmud presented the report. 

Education Minister Dipu Moni urged Unesco to share the data with the stakeholders before publishing the report. 

Like some other regions of the world, Bangladesh is facing the challenges of displacement, said the minister.