Educo: Rohingya children face bleaker future due to Covid-19

Rohingya children living in the camps in Bangladesh now face a bleaker future due to the prolonged closure of schools and limited access to child protection interventions, according to the global development NGO Educo.  

“Due to the pandemic, schools and learning facilities for children have been closed indefinitely, as well as child-friendly spaces, multi-purpose recreational areas,” Educo Humanitarian Program Director Matiur Rahaman said in a statement on Monday.

“Children are absolutely out of education. Child protection interventions have also been limited due to entry restrictions for humanitarian workers,” he said.  

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He also expressed concern that if the situation continues, refugee children, particularly girls, are likely to be forced into child marriage, child labor, and even trafficking, as families struggle to cope with the pandemic. 

Educo has urged all stakeholders to develop strategies allowing refugee children to have increased access to education, through various ingenious online and offline learning modes, and ensure that adequate child protection services are available to them. 

In response to the situation, the NGO implemented a community-based learning project catered to adolescents, incorporating face-to-face interaction and digital learning education. 

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“I thought I can not go to school again but luckily I got enrolled in Educo’s home-based learning centre. The teaching and learning methods are different here. We are using digital tab for learning,” says Nadira, a 13-year-old Rohingya refugee who is part of the project.

Educo together with Childfund Korea has reached 48,000 children and adults through relief distribution, education, and child protection interventions since 2018. 

According to the organization, it will focus on youth and skills development of adolescents and young people, establishing multi-purpose centres, and continuing vocational training and skills development sessions such as tailoring, solar panel repairing, and mobile phone repair through partners in future.