Myanmar’s Rohingya Refugees in Malaysia: Education and the Way Forward

The Rohingya, a persecuted minority, has faced decades of harsh treatment and made stateless by the military government in Myanmar. To escape from this severe repression, most Rohingya flee to Bangladesh, Thailand or Malaysia. In Malaysia, this community has been living invisibly for more than three decades. Just like other refugees, the Rohingya are not allowed to work legally and do not have access to free healthcare and education in this country. Many of these refugee children learn in the learning centres run by the community with the help of UNHCR and local NGOs and in madrasah1 after school hours. Nevertheless there is a huge gap in education for these children, especially for girls and boys over 15 years old. This paper addresses the gap, discusses the teaching and learning provided in the refugee learning centres and the future of these refugee children in Malaysia.