New Dhaka Times: Desk Report
The education program in the Rohingya refugee camps located in Teknaf and Ukhiya of Cox’s Bazar district in southern Bangladesh has fallen into a major crisis. Due to a funding shortfall, all types of educational efforts run by UNICEF and Save the Children have been declared shut. As a result of this decision, around 4,000 local (Bengali) teachers have lost their jobs, and approximately 230,000 Rohingya students are now at risk.
Following this sudden announcement, on Tuesday morning (June 3), the dismissed teachers from various camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf took to the streets in protest. They blocked the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf highway, disrupting traffic and causing severe suffering for general commuters. Later, the protestors lifted the blockade after intervention and assurances from the Upazila administration.
In this situation, Angela Kearney, Head of UNICEF’s Cox’s Bazar Field Office, and Mohammad Golam Mostafa, a representative of Save the Children, formally informed the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) of the decision to halt the education efforts through a joint letter. The letter stated, “In view of the recent situation in Ukhiya, all education activities in the camps are being temporarily suspended.”
Currently, a total of 8,000 teachers are employed in the Rohingya camps, of whom 4,000 are locals and the rest are from the Rohingya community. Previously, 1,200 local teachers had already been dismissed. Now, with the complete shutdown of the program, the remaining local teachers have also lost their jobs.
Additional Commissioner of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission, Shamsud Douza Nayan, said, “We have repeatedly requested funding assistance from various UN agencies to protect the jobs of local teachers. However, the decision to shut down the education program has still been made.”
Ukhiya Upazila Executive Officer Mohammad Kamrul Islam Chowdhury said, “As soon as the protest started, we intervened promptly and assured the demonstrators that efforts are ongoing to resolve the issue. Soon after, they lifted the blockade.”
Mohammad Karim, a protesting teacher from the Unchiprang camp, said, “Local teachers lost their jobs without any prior notice, while the Rohingya teachers have remained. We protested before, but since our jobs were not reinstated, we had to return to the streets again.”