From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: More than 30 community-run schools, which served tens of thousands of Rohingya children, have been forced to close in recent months.
In December, Bangladeshi authorities began a crackdown on these schools, according to The New York Times.They said the schools were illegal, but did not try to provide any alternatives — and did not remove the prohibition on the Rohingya attending local schools outside the country’s refugee camps.
The closings have come amid efforts by the government to tighten control of the camps. Last month, authorities destroyed thousands of shops there, according to Human Rights Watch. Many believe that Bangladeshi authorities feared the schools would encourage refugees to stay permanently.
Many parents say that, on the contrary, they want to return to Myanmar and believe Rohingya-run schools will prepare their children for the transition. “I fear that he will forget what he learned,” the mother of a sixth grader said. “If he doesn’t go to school, he will never be able to change his fate.”
Background: More than 700,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar since 2017 to escape the state-led persecution that the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing.
Details: About half the population of the densely crowded refugee camps are younger than 18; UNICEF says about 400,000 school-age children live there.
