Educational facilitators and key barriers for Rohingya children with disabilities in refugee camps

Abstract

The persecution of the Rohingya population - Myanmar’s Muslim minority - has emerged as a grave injustice in the context of the global refugee crisis. In 2017, over 773,000 Rohingya, including approximately 400,000 children, fled to the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh. This paper examines the facilitators and key barriers to the education of refugee children with disabilities and the major areas of intervention that stakeholders undertake to enhance their educational access. Ten Rohingya camps were selected for the study, which included four focus group discussions with 10 parents and 10 teachers, and a survey of 100 children with disabilities using a printed questionnaire. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was employed. The findings reveal that donor-driven support, policy prioritization for children with disabilities, trained teachers, and the presence of joyful learning centers operated by implementing non-governmental organizations serve as major educational facilitators. Conversely, the study identifies significant barriers such as inadequate facilities such as ramps and toilets, a lack of assistive devices, limited access to sports and recreation, underdeveloped referral pathways, insufficient home-based learning opportunities, and a scarcity of special education materials. Finally, the article offers a set of recommendations and highlights key stakeholders to ensure the right to education for these marginalized children.

Keywords

Children with disabilities / Donors / Education / Non-governmental organizations / Stakeholders / Well-being

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