Press Release from ARNO thanking Bangladesh Government

Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO)

Press Release: 30 January 2020 ARNO welcomes the Bangladesh Government’s decision to offer formal education to Rohingya refugee children Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) greatly welcomes the decision of the Government of Bangladesh to offer schooling and skills training opportunities to Rohingya refugee children, two and half years after they were forced to flee genocide in Myanmar. There are nearly half a million children out of more than one million Rohingya refugees living in the squalid and crowded camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Under the government’s plan, Rohingya refugee children will get school education up to the age of 14, through the provision of the Myanmar curriculum, and children older than 14 will get skills training.  A pilot project led by UNICEF and Bangladesh will start off in April with the initial involvement of 10,000 students in grade 6 to 9. So far, there are sizeable trained teachers in the camp to teach Burmese and more could be trained. For decades Rohingya have been deprived of their right to education in Myanmar making them the most illiterate section of the country. A good education is the most powerful weapon which will inculcate moral and ethical values in our children to be responsible society members enabling them to bring changes in society. For a bright future, quality education is important and is the key to success. It is appreciative that Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told AFP, “We don’t want a lost generation of Rohingyas. We want them to have education. They will follow Myanmar curricula”. We urge upon the international community to extend necessary help and resources to Bangladesh in implementing this significant scheme.   For more details, please contact: Dr Mohammad Habib Ullah +1-4438158609 or email at info@rohingya.org