EDUCATION FOR ROHINGYA DISPLACED CHILDREN

Abstract

Aim:As a legacy of forcible displacement from Myanmar, the ethnic Rohingya refugee children struggle for formal education in the world’s largest refugee camps (unregistered) in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Therefore, the study aims to explore the current education practices and the contexts of providing informal education in Temporary Learning Centre (TLCs) to the displaced Rohingya children by NGO-lead education sectors in Bangladeshi refugee camps.Theory:To investigate the real knowledge of education activities at the Temporary Learning Centre (TLCs) supported by NGOs in Rohingya Refugee Camps (RRC) in Bangladesh, grounded theory was used. Method:The investigation has been conducted in the form of a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews. The study involves individual and focused group interviews to 24 participants including TLC learners, Teachers, NGO Officials, Learners’ parents, Previous Learners, Government Officials in the refugee camp areas. Core themes have been identified from the responses of the interviews and for the thematic analysis process, open coding has predominantly based on Charmaz's coding technique of Grounded theory. Two phases of coding have preceded open coding through observing the transcripts, conceptualizing, and breaking down into parts and coding. The theoretical coding has interrelated the substantive categories that the open coding has developed (Punch, 2009, p. 108). Results: Inadequate classroom size, unprotected wash facilities, inadequate teaching materials, unskilled teaching staff, teaching inadequate number of subjects, frequent campfire in the camp areas, psychological distress, and poor health conditions of Rohingya learners were mentioned as major setbacks against a quality education for displaced Rohingya children at TLCs. Large age difference in the same classroom, poor teaching quality, insufficient hours of learning, inadequate professional trainings for teachers, poor working condition, restrictions of using mobile phone and internet, poverty, inadequate school feeding program, inaccessible education for children with disabilities, child labor, early marriage, adverse weather conditions, trafficking, and poor health conditions of the displaced learners are also mentioned as highly associated to quality education in Temporary Learning Centre (TLCs) in Rohingya refugee camps (RRC).