EDUCATION for ROHINGYA DISPLACED CHILDREN a Case Study on Providing Education at NGO-Run Temporary Learning Centres (Tlcs) in Bangladeshi Refugee Camps
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
FACULTY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SPECIAL EDUCATION EDUCATION FOR ROHINGYA DISPLACED CHILDREN A case study on providing education at NGO-run Temporary Learning Centres (TLCs) in Bangladeshi refugee camps. H M Moniruzzaman Master’s thesis: 30 Credits Programme/course: L2EUR (IMER) PDA184 Level: Second cycle-International Master’s in Educational Research Term/year: Spring -2021 Supervisor: Ilse Hakvoort Examiner: Ernst Thoutenhoofd Abstract The Rohingya is a forcefully displaced ethnic minority in Myanmar who have sought refuge in neighboring Bangladesh for over two decades. The Rohingya displaced children have limited access to education in the world largest refugee camp at Cox’s Bazar where 40,000 people live per square km in Bangladesh. The NGO-run Temporary Learning Centre (TLCs) initiative is one of the most common education activities in makeshift settlements at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. The study intends to explore the conditions and contexts of providing a transitional education to the displaced children aged 4-14 years in unregistered refugee camps by NGOs. The study also intends to evaluate, examine the role, challenges, and potentials of providing informal education in Temporary Learning Centre (TLCs) by NGOs in Bangladeshi refugee camp contexts. Master’s thesis: 30 Credits Programme/Course: L2EUR (IMER) PDA184 Level: Second cycle-International Master’s in Educational Research Term/year: Spring 2021 Supervisor: Ilse Hakvoort Examiner: Ernst Thoutenhoofd Rohingya Refugee, Refugee Education in Emergencies, Keywords: Temporary Learning Centre, Challenges and Potentials. 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). 3 Acknowledgement First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Ilse Hakvoort for her enormous support and encouragement to make the research happen. Her evaluation and instructions on my drafts have paved me the way. I am also thankful to the Rotary International Scholarship (RISH) and Donation Board Scholarship (DBS) authority for extending their financial support. I cannot but express my special regards to Ernst Thoutenhoofd for his natural supportive attitude to me. His encouragements and motivations have kept me moving to work with Rohingya refugee education. I also would like to thank all my course teachers, UNICEF officials, UNHCR officials, RRRC officials, Education Sectors officials, my colleagues at IMER of Gothenburg University. I am highly grateful to my parents Md. Yusuf Ali and Mukul Begum for their constant love and motivation for moving me ahead from thousands of miles away. I am so grateful to Aditi, Lucky, Babu Bhai, Tauhid and Munni for their tremendous love and support for me as my family. Gothenburg, Sweden 2021 Abbreviations BRAC Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee CFS Child Friendly Space DAM Dhaka Ahasania Mission FDMN Forcefully Displaced Myanmar Nationals GIEP Guidelines for Informal Education Programming HRW Human Right Watch HRP Humanitarian Response Plan ISCG Inter Sector Coordination Group INGO International Non-governmental Organization JRP Joint Response Plan JENA Joint Education Needs Assessment JRNA Joint Rapid Needs Assessment LCFA Learning Competency Framework and Approach MSNA Multi-Sector Needs Assessment MSF Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Border NRS Northern Rakhine State NGO Non-governmental Organization NTF The National Task Force RRRC Relief and Repatriation Commissioner RRRA Rohingya Research Regulatory Authority RRC Rohingya Refugee Camps TWB Translators Without Borders TLC Temporary Learning Centre UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UN United Nations WFP World Food Program 6 Table of Contents 1.0 Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 The Stateless Rohingya Refugee .................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Historical Background of Rohingya Refugee ................................................................................ 2 1.3 Emergency Education Practices in Rohingya Refugee Camps ...................................................... 6 1.4 Host Country’s Policies on Learning Facilities in RRCs ............................................................... 7 1.5 Problem Statement ......................................................................................................................... 8 1.6 Aims of the study and Research Questions .................................................................................... 9 1.7 NGO's Educational Approach in RRCs ........................................................................................ 10 2.0 Chapter Two: Literature Review ................................................................................................. 12 2.1 Tormented Living Condition of Rohingya Refugee in South Asia ............................................. 13 2.2 Rohingya Education Overview in TLCs ..................................................................................... 13 2.2.1 Classroom Facilities ............................................................................................................... 14 2.2.2 Safety Threats for Girls .......................................................................................................... 15 2.2.3 Walking Distance ................................................................................................................... 15 2.2.4 Student-Teacher Ratio ............................................................................................................ 16 2.2.5 Religion Education Alternatives............................................................................................. 16 2.2.6 Poverty ................................................................................................................................... 17 2.2.7 Adverse Climate ..................................................................................................................... 19 2.2.8 Lack of Educational Permission for Teaching ....................................................................... 19 2.3 The Gaps Between NGO's Ambitions and Achievements .......................................................... 20 2.4 Impacts & Influences of TLC Initiative ....................................................................................... 21 3.0 Chapter Three: Research Methodology ...................................................................................... 23 3.1 Research Strategy ......................................................................................................................... 23 3.2 Research Design ........................................................................................................................... 24 3.3 Rationale for selecting NGO supported TLC Initiative................................................................ 25 3.4 Sampling ......................................................................................................................................