Introduction 

Ethnic Muslims living in the country’s Rakhine state, the minority Rohingyas have been denied citizenship rights under the 1982 Myanmar nationality law, consequently stripping them of their right to vote, and denying them access to higher education and healthcare. Furthermore, their right to work, to practice their religion, and to travel freely even inside the country, continue to be restricted and criminalised. The year 2017 marked a watershed, with the mass exodus of Rohingyas from Myanmar to Bangladesh.^[a]

This brief focuses on the more than 370,000 Rohingya children living in the refugee camps in Bangladesh, and how they are being deprived of basic education. Despite the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that the right to education is a basic right that children are entitled to irrespective of their nationality, caste and creed, a vast majority of these displaced children do not receive any formal education.^[1] The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) exhort the global community to “leave no one behind,” and list universal education among the targets for 2030. The SDGs require countries to commit to their own agenda and priorities, and institute specific monitoring and reporting mechanisms thereafter. However, there are no international rules or measures in place to ensure that refugees and displaced persons such as the Rohingyas are integrated in national development plans.

Globally, there are over 30 million displaced children with no access to education.^[2] This number includes the displaced Rohingya children living in the camp areas in Bangladesh. Around 855,000 displaced Rohingyas are currently settled in 34 camps across Ukhiya and Teknaf areas in Cox’s Bazar district,^[3] of whom 45 percent are children.^[4] The Bangladeshi government has undertaken the responsibility of providing them with food, shelter, and healthcare, but so far, not education.

While the Rohingyas legally fall under the category of “de jure stateless,”^[b] the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) recognises them as “Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals” (FDMN). Like other South Asian countries, Bangladesh is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (or its 1967 Protocol), the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (the 1954 Convention) or the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (the 1961 Convention). Thus, the GoB is not required to use the term “refugee” in its official documents, and the country’s judiciary system makes no provisions for refugees or stateless persons. However, several national laws and Constitutional provisions cover all individuals residing in Bangladesh territory.^[c] Furthermore, Bangladesh is signatory to both the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the SDGs, and is thus responsible for the education of the displaced children who currently fall under the country’s jurisdiction, regardless of their stateless status.

Over the last several years, the Rohingya crisis has become protracted in nature. The two recent failed repatriation efforts are a testament to the challenges in establishing suitable conditions for the Rohingyas’ return to Myanmar, and the military coup in Myanmar further adds to the uncertainty.^[5] The return of the Rohingyas will thus depend on a host of factors beyond Bangladesh’s control—getting citizenship rights in Myanmar, an assured safe and dignified return to their homes, and protection from persecution post their return. Under the current military government in Myanmar, such conditions are unlikely to be met,^[6],[7] and even when repatriation efforts do begin, it may take a considerable amount of time before each displaced person can safely return.

Therefore, it is crucial to prioritise the welfare of around 376,000 displaced children who currently need, or will soon need, basic education.^[8] The protracted nature of the displacement requires a set of solutions that address children’s educational needs in the medium to long term, beyond the makeshift provisions dictated by the current policy in Bangladesh. While the GoB had earlier suspended the provision of formal education to displaced Rohingya children, at the beginning of 2020, it announced the Myanmar Curriculum Pilot (MCP), a formal structure for incorporating, initially, 10,000 students whose secondary studies (Grade 6-9) were interrupted when they fled to Bangladesh.^[9] This will be an important step to prepare Rohingyas for a better future in Myanmar once they are safely repatriated. However, the COVID-19 crisis has put the MCP plans on hold. This brief describes the efforts of humanitarian organisations to provide education to the Rohingya children in the camp areas in Bangladesh, and identifies the impediments.^[d]

Education as a Humanitarian Act

The education sector includes the Bangladesh Ministry of Education, Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, along with a host of humanitarian agencies including UN charitable organisations, and international and local NGOs led by UNICEF. The sector has taken responsibility for providing education to displaced Rohingyas as well as improving the access to education for children in Bangladeshi host communities.^[10] International donors are supporting education for displaced Rohingyas primarily through funding to the UNICEF (See Table 1), which has been coordinating education for Rohingyas living in Bangladesh since August 2017.

Table 1. Funding Sources for Education of Rohingya Children (US$ millions)

For its part, the GoB does not provide the FDMNs with any formal curriculum in line with the Bangladeshi education system. Instead, humanitarian agencies, along with Dhaka and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) University, have meticulously planned a structure to educate the displaced children. Since October 2017, informal technical working group meetings as well as workshops have been organised, involving representatives from the UNICEF, the UNHCR, Save the Children, the BRAC, and technical curriculum experts from Bangladesh and Myanmar, to develop a learning framework as an alternative non-formal curriculum for Rohingya children. Opinions and recommendations from both the GoB and Rohingyas have been considered in finalising the framework; called the Learning Competency Framework and Approach (LCFA), it is currently being followed in the camp areas.^[11]

Based on the LCFA, the GoB drafted a policy called “Guidelines for Informal Education Programming” (GIEP). However, it has remained unauthorised and uncertified, with only Levels I and II being approved for use in Cox’s Bazar, i.e. the equivalent of pre-primary levels up to grade 2 in a formal school system (See Table 2). Levels III and IV, the equivalent of grades 3 to 8, which target adolescents, continue to await approval from the government. Thus, access to education for Rohingya children in Bangladesh is currently restricted to basic levels.

Table 2: Learning Levels in GIEP

Table 3: Displaced Rohingya Children in Bangladesh, by age group

The Humanitarian Education Sector is targeting a total of 375,924 displaced children till the age of 24 (See Table 3). There are 315,000 children and adolescents studying at over 3,200 learning centres (LCs) spread across the 34 camp areas (See Map 1).^[12] Children learn five subjects: English, Mathematics, Burmese, Life Skills (for levels 1 and 2), and Science (for levels 3 and 4, which are yet to begin). Classes are run by one Bangladeshi teacher from the host community and one Burmese language instructor from the Rohingya community.^[13]

Figure 1: Rohingya Camps in Cox’s Bazar District

In the last two years, there has been growing demand from both the Rohingya community and humanitarian agencies for a formal curriculum to equip Rohingya children and youth with essential knowledge and skills to lead a dignified life and ensure the security of their future. Rohingya parents and students in the camps have expressed the desire for access to education in line with the Myanmar curriculum, as they consider repatriation to be the solution to their plight and want to be prepared to go home when the conditions improve.^[14] With the GoB taking two years to respond to these demands and implement the MCP, numerous displaced community-led networks of teachers have started classes privately following the Myanmar curriculum, using photocopied old textbooks as resources, in an attempt to fill the gap in formal education. However, these efforts have not received adequate support from humanitarian organisations or the local camp in-charges (CICs).^[15]

The MCP is supposed to follow the Myanmar curriculum, with 10,000 students in the middle grades (6–9) to be taught Burmese, English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies, and additional subjects that will be introduced over time. Further, the lessons learned from the implementation of the pilot will be integrated into the second phase, as the curriculum is scaled up and expanded to reach more children across other grades.^[16] In 2021, the pilot was supposed to introduce Grade 10. Furthermore, to achieve a smooth transition from the current LCFA, plans were underway to introduce Grade 1 as the first primary year.^[17] However, these plans are now indefinitely on hold due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the resultant lockdown measures.

Currently, over 30 percent of the Rohingya children and youth aged three to 24 still require access to education, and 69 percent of Rohingya households reported at least one five- to 17-year old not getting any learning opportunities. An alarming 83 percent of the adolescents and youth aged 15-24 do not have access to any educational or skill development activities, since no opportunities have been created for them.^[18] The lack of inclusive teaching and learning materials, and inadequate support from the family, has contributed to fewer children attending classes.^[19] The situation is exacerbated for children with disabilities, who are unable to access the learning centres due to a lack of ramps or steep and rough terrain.

The education system within the camp areas is faced with various challenges, including limited funding, lack of adequate learning centres, lack of a proper curriculum, inadequate scholastic materials, few students, and many untrained teachers. The situation is compounded by abysmal WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) conditions; there is also not enough separate washrooms for girls, which can help explain their poor attendance.^[e],[20] If the current issues are not resolved in a methodical manner, it will be difficult to ensure proper, quality education once the learning centres reopen.

In August 1990, Bangladesh became one of the first nations in the region to ratify the CRC, signifying the country’s early commitment towards children’s rights. Nationally, Bangladesh has made enormous strides in promoting child rights over the last three decades. There has been a marked reduction in the child mortality rate from 151 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 40 in 2019; increase in the percentage of fully vaccinated children from 52 percent in 1991 to 82 percent in 2016; reduction in stunting amongst children under five from 72 percent in 1993 to 28 percent in 2019; increase in the use of improved sources of drinking water from 79 percent in 1990 to 98.5 per cent in 2019; increase in the use of improved sanitation facilities from 9 percent in 1990 to 85 percent in 2019; and increase in the net primary school attendance ratio from 65 percent in 1990 to 86 percent in 2019.^[21]

However, in providing Rohingya children with education, Bangladesh has severely restricted their options to only a few learning opportunities available within the camp areas, and denied them the use of the Bengali language or any formal curriculum based on the Bangladeshi syllabus. This restriction is based on the assumption that the children will be repatriated within two years. However, under the current circumstances, this assumption seems increasingly unfounded.

Current Challenges

The Bangladesh government’s approval to form a proper curriculum gave hope that the Rohingya children in the camps will finally be able to get some formal education. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 disrupted whatever progress had been made. The Bangladesh government, like others across the world, in March 2020 was forced to order the closure of educational institutions throughout the country. To support the continuation of education, the Ministry of Education rolled out a series of mix-modality of audio, visual and paper-based learning programmes. However, accessing distance-learning modalities can be difficult for large populations, leading to a heightening of economic, geographic and social inequities. For displaced Rohingyas, the challenge becomes insurmountable.

Following the lockdown announced at the end of March 2020, the presence of humanitarian workers in the camps reduced drastically^[22] and the learning centres, as well as women and child-friendly spaces, were shut down. To be sure, however, the issues plaguing the education system for displaced Rohingyas residing in Bangladesh predate the COVID-19 crisis.

Space Constraints and Unstable Structures

The GoB has been adamant about not building any permanent structure within the camp areas. Consequently, most centres are cloistered, single-room bamboo structures, vulnerable to damage during extreme weather events like cyclones, or even from heavy monsoonal rains. The limited space makes it difficult to accommodate more than 40 children in one room at a time. To make up for this, the centres, when they were operational, ran for two to three hours, in two or three shifts.^[23] The proposed Myanmar pilot programme aims to address the space constraints, since it will include grades 6, 7, 8 and 9, and mandate three or four shifts. Night shifts may also be required, which will entail permissions from the Majhis, or community leaders. In 2020, even as the learning centres were closed, seasonal rainfall affected more than 1,068 structures,^[24] of which only 394 have been restored at the time of writing this brief. In January and March 2021, fires broke out in the camp areas, not only damaging the flimsy structures but also killing and injuring people, including children.^[25] While the cause of the fires has not yet been determined, they highlighted the need for quality infrastructure investments and proper mechanisms for disaster preparedness.

The GoB is deliberating on the request to modify a few hundred learning centres into two-storey structures. NGOs such as BRAC have already constructed some two-storey spaces, which have been appreciated by the government as well as community members.^[26] The architecture follows indigenous Rohingya building traditions, using mainly bamboo and other natural ingredients. The structure stands two feet above the ground, allowing ventilation and resilience to extreme weather.

Gender Disparity and Low Attendance

In the camp learning centres, the number of attending girls and boys remain similar in the initial years. However, post-puberty, the dropout rates for girls become significantly higher than for boys owing to a number of reasons. First, there is concern regarding the safety of girls due to past incidents of gender-based violence in the camps.^[27] Second, families are reluctant to send their adolescent girls to learning centres where they will be with boys; indeed, Rohingya parents are calling for the gender-segregation of LCs.^[28] Third, families often want adolescent girls to stay home and do household work instead—education being a much lower priority than getting them married.^[29]

The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the gender gap, with girls being required to engage in longer hours of housework. Many families have indicated that when classes resume in the future, they will not send their girls back as they are needed at home.

Shortage of Facilitators and Learning Materials

The teaching staff in the learning centres are known as facilitators. The interviews conducted by this author found that there is a massive requirement for such facilitators within the camp areas. At present, around 8,900 teachers are working in the learning centres on a double-shift system. To reach the initial target of educating 10,000 Rohingya children under the MCP in the first year, an additional 250 facilitators must be recruited. Discussions are ongoing to provide better incentives for teachers.^[30] The current facilitators are not sufficiently trained to teach in displacement settings, where they often have to deal with congested, mixed-age or multilingual classrooms and manage children who have suffered trauma back in Myanmar.^[31] Consequently, these teachers also have to bear their own psychological toll.

In addition to being understaffed, the camp learning centres also do not have adequate teaching material.^[32] The material currently available has been reported as qualitatively inferior and does not hold the interest of children from different age groups, resulting in increased drop-outs. The distribution of effective learning material has become all the more important amidst the pandemic, with remote learning becoming the mainstay of education.

Pending Approval from Myanmar Government

The MCP can only be implemented when the Myanmar government approves the curriculum and certifies the course.^[33] However, the approval is still pending and the process is currently on hold, with no clear indication on when the government will give the green light. In the interim, the existing study plans and material will continue to be taught; however, these too must be authorised such that students can receive qualification certificates equivalent to the education they receive—from either Myanmar or Bangladesh. Without authorisation, the students will have no record of their skills and qualification, which will put their future in jeopardy.

Limited and Short-term Funding

Globally, humanitarian aid has been unable to meet the medium- or long-term needs of those facing protracted displacement. The most significant gap in funding is often in crucial sectors such as education. As of November 2020, the education sector was only 19-percent funded (See Figure 2).^[34]

Figure 2. Funding Gaps (US$ millions)

Education interventions are often constrained by the duration of funding, which usually lasts less than one year. This disrupts the entire system, and children are forced to drop out when a project ends. Once learning centres and other educational facilities are re-opened as the pandemic is controlled, donors must enter into multi-annual funding provisions, as already requested by many stakeholders.^[35] Such efforts will ensure that children are able to access not only the MCP but also other education programmes. Without adequate multi-annual funding options, it will be extremely difficult to overcome other challenges.

Emerging requirements to respond to the COVID-19 crisis has led to further reallocation of funding—redirecting the funds earmarked from education to other sectors such as WASH and health, and exacerbating the gaps in learning continuity for the displaced Rohingya children.

Lack of 3G/4G Internet Connection

According to a 2020 UNCAD report, in poor countries like Bangladesh, only one in five people use the internet, and less than five percent of the population buy goods or services online.^[36] Lack of internet access at home also limits connectivity, e.g. the access to online classes when schools are closed. Improving the delivery and quality of online education should be a key priority in the post COVID-19 era, with particular attention to rural and remote areas.

In the context of FDMNs, the camp areas do not have 3G or 4G internet connections. In August 2020, the government announced that it would lift the restrictions, yet no concrete steps have been taken so far.^[37] Even as the UNICEF is advertising that the temporary closure of the learning centres does not affect children’s access to education, since they are being guided by their teachers, parents and caregivers who conduct lessons at home by providing teaching guidelines, workbooks and other printed learning materials, it remains unclear how much guidance uneducated parents can provide.

To be sure, there are success stories of implementing distance learning amongst refugee or displaced populations. The Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya is one such example, where the UNHCR and Vodafone Foundation have devised a programme called “Instant Network Schools” (INS) to provide education access that will benefit more than 500,000 refugee students. By the end of 2019, 36 INS across eight refugee camps in Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan have helped over 86,500 refugee students and 1,000 teachers. However, for the INS to operate, good connectivity and 3G internet connection are prerequisites. Another successful case of digital learning is within the displaced camps along the Myanmar-Thailand border. This program is known as the Australian Catholic University (ACU) Thai-Burma Programme, which is led by ACU in partnership with York University in Canada, Palms Australia, and the Marist Asia Foundation. Through this initiative, around 21 displaced students have enrolled in higher education and 17 of them graduated with the programme’s diploma in Business Administration.^[38]

Therefore, lifting the ban on 3G/4G and promoting technology-friendly policies will not only improve Rohingya children’s access to education but also allow for proper communication to ensure preparedness against COVID-19, in light of the approaching cyclone and monsoon season. Meanwhile, international agencies must ensure that remote learning is available through pre-recorded radio instructions as well as SD cards and SMS until internet connectivity becomes more widely available.

Children Stuck on an Island

Approximately 20,000 displaced Rohingyas have been transported to the much controversial Bhasan Char island^[f] so far, including children.^[39] Amongst the shelters prepared for their residence, some have been designated for education. However, no concrete plans have been made for the provision of education. Moreover, the UN has mandated international humanitarian organisations to not visit the island until an independent technical and protection assessment is conducted to ensure that it is safe to inhabit. ^[40] To add to this, the government plans to move more individuals to the island, which will further impact the already poor state of education. Currently, only a few local NGOs are said to provide humanitarian assistance in terms of food, healthcare and education for a year.^[41]

Recommendations

Ramp up Construction of Learning Centres

The planned double-story learning centres must be followed through and scaled up to ensure more learning spaces are available for children. This will help enhance the learning scope for children from different age groups. The need for quality infrastructure investments remains crucial to ensure that the learning centres to be built are resilient to disasters like fire, and extreme weather events. In the context of the current health crisis, once vaccinations are in circulation and the pandemic is under control, a phased reopening of learning centres should be undertaken, with clear guidelines on safe distancing, physical space disinfection, and proper WASH facilities.

Alternative Digital learning

In the absence of 3G/4G internet service, especially when physical centres are closed due to the pandemic, it is necessary to identify and pilot alternative digital learning technology, using the LCFA curriculum for now and the MCP when it becomes functional. The practical approach must be based on combinations of low technology, whereby devices procured are programmed with learning materials. The devices can then be distributed based on the educational needs of the children, along with printed materials. To explain their use, facilitators can be enlisted for door-to-door visitations. Investing in creating a remote-learning system such as this will ensure learning continuity, even in the case of future lockdowns or other crises. Going forward, the GoB must also lift the restrictions on 3G/4G network connections, for a smooth transition to online education.

Capacity Building and Community-based Programmes

With the advent of new methods of learning, teaching methods too must undergo transformation. This necessitates capacity building, such as training on remedial strategies to ensure that facilitators are able to identify and provide additional support to children who have learning gaps, e.g. those unable to continue remote learning when learning centres are shut. For the implementation of the MCP, humanitarian organisations must reach out to and recruit qualified community teachers and examine local community programmes that can be incorporated. A study conducted by the UNHCR suggests that more than 40,000 students now access private learning that follows the Myanmar curriculum through these community education initiatives,^[xlii] indicating the critical role such initiatives will play in the pilot.

Improve Funding

Despite the enormity of the challenge, education for displaced children is currently severely underfunded. Monetary investments will be crucial to strengthening the learning centres, ensuring scholastic materials, and recruiting qualified instructors. To this end, multi-year education funding can help amplify the effectiveness of the education programmes and remove learning gaps. Specifically, funding must focus on removing barriers to girls’ education and development by increasing access to education and skills training, with a focus on programmes that encourage the long-term retention of girls in schools, targeting children of both camps and host community. Further, the provision of female-only classes will encourage more families to send their daughters without apprehensions and will help retain girl students in school for longer.

Conclusion

A systemic lack of education not only limits possibilities for children but also threatens the human capital development of a nation and undermines its economic growth. Further, given the identity crisis and psychological trauma experienced by stateless children, instilling confidence in them is as important as ensuring formal education. With this in mind, some NGOs have introduced innovative ways of learning for the Rohingya children seeking refuge in camps in Bangladesh.

In addressing the lack of infrastructure, faculty, and quality material, online learning can be a great asset. Tailor-made programmes may be devised according to the convenience of the displaced people in consultation with the government to facilitate higher education programmes that are currently lacking in camp areas. While technology is not a comprehensive solution to the education crisis, it does hold substantial potential. To be sure, appropriate funding and political will remain paramount for such initiatives to be successful.

While the journey ahead may be challenging, with effective implementation of the MCP, it is possible for Bangladesh to ensure even basic education for the displaced children of the Rohingya community.

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About the Author

Sreeparna Banerjee is a Junior Fellow at ORF, Kolkata.

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Endnotes

^[a] The main reason for the conflict that led to the exodus of hundreds of thousands of displaced Rohingyas were clashes in Rakhine, which broke out after a militant group known as the “Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army” (ARSA) claimed responsibility for attacks on police and army posts. The government responded by declaring ARSA a terrorist organisation and the military mounted a brutal campaign that destroyed hundreds of Rohingya villages; killed and sexually violated millions of men, women and children; and forced approximately 700,000 Rohingyas to flee Myanmar. Allegedly, Myanmar’s security forces also opened fire on fleeing civilians and planted land mines near border crossings that the Rohingyas were using to flee to Bangladesh.

^[b]The phrase “de jure stateless” refers to a person who is stateless and lacks membership to any basic institution (education, healthcare, employment) of the state, thereby considered a foreigner by every country in the world. See Atig Ghosh, “Words of law, worlds of loss: the stateless people of the Indo-Bangladeshi enclaves,” in The State of Being Stateless: An Account of South Asia, eds. Atig Ghosh, Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury and Paula Banerjee (New Delhi: Orient Blackswan Publication, 2015), 20-49.

^[c]Additionally, the 1946 Foreigners Act mentions the presence of refugees, which supersedes all other legal provisions by granting the GoB the power and discretion to decide on the scope of the Act’s application. Against this legal landscape, protection is supposedly extended to refugees through administrative mechanisms.

^[d]The brief is based on primary interviews conducted with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNICEF representatives in Bangladesh, as well as research scholars working in this domain. The author also consulted existing secondary literature. The brief only covers displaced children learning in the centres set up by humanitarian organisations. Children learning in Moktabs or religious schools are not included. It must be noted that a sizeable number of the Rohingya children receive education in Moktabs, which are run within camp areas as well.

^[e] In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 500 units of hand-washing centres were constructed within the camp areas.

^[f] To reduce overcrowding in Cox’s Bazar district, the Bangladesh government temporarily relocated around 100,000 displaced Rohingyas to the silt island of Bhasan Char. Bhasan Char, which means “floating island,” is fragile and prone to erosion. It is located at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal and the mouth of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system, and will bear the first impact if a tsunami or cyclone hits the region. See Sreeparna Banerjee, From Cox’s Bazar to Bhasan Char: An Assessment of Bangladesh’s Relocation Plan for Rohingya Refugees, Observer Research Foundation, May 2020.

^[1] “Convention on the Rights of the Child,” United Nations, Human Rights.

^[2] Jaime Saavedra and Franck Bousquet, “Committing to learning for every child, despite conflict and crisis,” World Bank Blogs, October 26, 2020.

^[3] “JRP for Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis, January – December 2020,” UNHCR, March 2020.

^[4] UNHCR, March 2020.

^[5] Sreeparna Banerjee, “Myanmar: The Rohingya question in the current coup,” Observer Research Foundation, February 11, 2021.

^[6] Observer Research Foundation, February 11, 2021.

^[7] Sreeparna Banerjee, “From Cox’s Bazar to Bhasan Char: An Assessment of Bangladesh’s Relocation Plan for Rohingya Refugees,” Observer Research Foundation, May 7, 2020.

^[8] UNHCR, March 2020.

^[9] UNHCR, March 2020.

^[10] UNHCR, March 2020.

^[11] ““Are We Not Human?” Denial of Education for Rohingya Refugee Children in Bangladesh,” Human Rights Watch, December 2, 2019.

^[12] Interview with UNHCR Representative on July 11, 2020.

^[13] Karen Reidy, “Expanding education for Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh,” UNICEF, February 10, 2020.

^[14] Interview with UNHCR Representative on July 11, 2020.

^[15] Interview with UNHCR Representative on July 11, 2020; HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, December 2, 2019.

^[16] Interview with UNHCR Representative on July 11, 2020.

^[17] “2020 Covid-19 Response Plan: Addendum to the Joint Response Plan 2020 – Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis (April – December 2020) – Bangladesh,” reliefweb, July 22, 2020.

^[18] RELIEFWEB, July 22, 2020.

^[19] Interview with UNICEF Representative on 30 July 2020; RELIEFWEB, July 22, 2020.

^[20] RELIEFWEB, July 22, 2020.

^[21] “Bangladesh: Thirty years of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,” Press Release, UNICEF, November 23, 2019.

^[22] “Bangladesh: Covid-19 Aid Limits Imperil Rohingya,” Human Rights Watch, April 28, 2020.

^[23] Interview with UNHCR representative on July 11, 2020.

^[24] “COVID-19 and Monsoon Preparedness and Response in Rohingya Refugee Camps and Host Communities Weekly Update #32,” Inter Sector Coordination Group, November 2020.

^[25] “Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore on the fire at Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh,” UNICEF, March 26, 2021.

^[26] Interview with UNHCR representative on July 17, 2020.

^[27] Interview with UNICEF representative on June 15, 2020.

^[28] Interview with UNHCR representative on July 17, 2020.

^[29] Sucharita Sengupta, “Towards Emancipation or Bondage? Rohingya Women’s Narratives from Bangladesh Refugee Camps and Indian Jails Migration,” Trafficking and Gender Construction edited by Roli Misra, Sage Publication, March 2020.

^[30] Interview with UNICEF representative on July 19, 2020.

^[31] HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, December 2, 2019.

^[32] HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, December 2, 2019.

^[33] Interview with UNHCR representative on July 17, 2020.

^[34] “2020 Joint Response Plan: Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis Mid Term Review – January to July 2020 – Bangladesh,” November 30, 2020.

^[35] HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, December 2, 2019.

^[36] “The Least Developed Countries Report 2020: Productive Capacities for the new decade,” United Nations, Geneva, 2020.

^[37] Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan, Syed Samiul Basher Anik, “Govt decides to restore 3G, 4G internet in Rohingya camps“, Dhaka Tribune, August 24, 2021.

^[38] “ACU refugee program on the Thai-Burma border,” Australian Catholic University.

^[39] “Bangladesh: Rohingya Refugees Allegedly Tortured,” Human Rights Watch, April 27, 2021.

^[40] Nazmul Ahsan, “As Bangladesh moves Rohingya to Bhasan Char, UN and aid agencies face a dilemma,” Devex, December 11, 2020.

^[41] DEVEX, December 11, 2020.

^[42] “Scale-up of Early-Learning and Informal Basic Education Programme for Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nations (MCP),” Dhaka Ahsania Mission, 2020.

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