More support for Rohingya kids sought

Urging the global donors to rally behind Rohingya children, Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore said every month that goes by is a missed opportunity for refugee children, said a Unicef press release Friday.

"Education is critical for young Rohingyas to build better futures," she told the Conference on Sustaining Support for the Rohingya Refugee Response Thursday.

The Unicef executive director said education will help their safe repatriation and better reintegration into their homeland.

She also said, in addition to providing vital services such as health, nutrition, WASH and protection, her teams are also rallying behind refugee children's education.

She said nearly 90% of Rohingya refugee children of primary school-going age were regularly attending a learning facility by September 2019. In January, Bangladesh also approved the pilot use of Myanmar's national curriculum for Rohingya children.

The government in January also resumed internet connectivity to the camps which enabled Unicef's internet-based education "EdTech".

With pandemic-led school closure, now Unicef and its partners are providing education remotely at the camps, said Henrietta Fore.  

She said, "We are giving parents and caregivers the training and tools they need to support their children's education. More than 170,000 Rohingya children are being supported this way. And in parallel, we are working with the government to safely open learning centres and schools when the conditions are right."

"All Rohingya children need the global donor community to rally behind their futures. And they need it now. Help our agencies provide sustainable education for all Rohingya children, adolescents and youth — both formal and alternative instruction, no matter where they live, now and beyond Covid-19," she told the conference.

"Join our call to ensure a place for Rohingya children in both countries' education systems and programmes. They need education where they live.

"Support UNICEF and UNHCR's joint blueprint for action to create a "fair deal" for refugees. We must accelerate our joint work not only in education, but all the areas in which these children need help. From water and sanitation, to child protection and psychosocial counselling," she concluded.