The education of around 230,000 Rohingya refugee children is under threat due to an acute and deepening funding crisis, UNICEF warned on Sunday.
In a statement posted on their official website, UNICEF says they have faced a significant decline in humanitarian funding for its operations in the Rohingya refugee response in recent months, which has affected their ability to fund and provide education to 83% of school-age children in the Rohingya camps, who are enrolled in UNICEF-supported learning centers.
The support provided by UNICEF to the children in the world’s largest refugee settlement is at risk without immediate, sufficient, and sustained financial aid, reads the statement.
Due to this funding crisis, they have announced the learning facilities will remain closed until the end of this month, June.
While children within the range of Kindergarten to second grade were taught English, science, or social studies, the crisis is forcing the organisation to take painful decisions such as cancelling these subjects and prioritizing core foundational subjects —literacy (Rohingya), Burmese, mathematics, life skills and socio-emotional learning—and suspending support for host community volunteer teachers.
A total of 1,179 host community volunteer teachers will see their contracts ended with UNICEF´s implementing partners by June 30, 2025.
No new textbooks or teacher guides will be available for the 2025–2026 academic year. End-of-year assessments and placement tests have also been cancelled.
“The children we are speaking about are among the most vulnerable in the world,” said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh.
“We are doing everything possible to sustain critical education services, and UNICEF has been able to attract some other funding – but unfortunately there will be a delay in receiving this and thus UNICEF is forced to close learning facilities temporarily. Without urgent funding, the learning facilities may remain closed, and an entire generation of Rohingya children risks being left behind,” she added.
Education is a fundamental right; it acts as a beacon of hope for the Rohingya children living in displacement as education is also a critical bridge to dignity, resilience, and future opportunities, while keeping children away from protection risks.
Ending the statement on this note, UNICEF thanked their donors and supporters, and made a plea to the international community to invest in quality education for Rohingya refugee children in Cox’s Bazar with renewed vigour.