Education in Crises. Education for What? - The Understood Purpose of Education for Rohingya Refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, and Implications on Their Education in Times of Crisis

Abstract

This study dives into the field of refugee education and education in complex emergencies. It examines the education available to the Rohingya refugees living in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. What education do they have access to and why? This study looks at the connection between the purpose of refugee education and their perceived futures, and finds the purpose of the education offered to the Rohingya refugees to be that of facilitating a future of return to Myanmar. By only preparing the Rohingya for one possible future, in which the likeliness of is uncertain, the education offered to the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh contributes to keeping the refugees at a disadvantage and increasing their vulnerability. This has raised concerns of ending up with a lost generation of Rohingya children and youth. The paper will also look further into how the Rohingya children in Cox’s Bazar and their access to education have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we see the vulnerable become increasingly vulnerable in times of crises. Despite of its acknowledged importance education was not prioritized, having serious and long-lasting consequences. This indicate that the likeliness of ending up with a lost generation has increased with this crisis within a crisis.