Empower not Disempower: Understanding educational needs for Rohingya children to deflect the narratives

• In Event: Roundtable Group 6
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Meeting the educational needs of children and youth in emergencies

Proposal

My research critically examines quality and equity of education during emergencies, provided by humanitarian agencies, for children living in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. This research reflects on ethnographic studies consisting of qualitative research, in-depth interviews and statistics. I intend to demonstrate that a scholarly approach to understanding the educational needs of the children residing in the Rohingya refugee camps, helps deflect the image of victimization and the consistent narrative of disempowerment often stigmatized by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) for their own market-gain. Cultural and religious differences, political and armed conflict and governmental policies are indicative of the reasonings behind mass migration and seeking asylum, however the context is often overshadowed by negative imagery of social norms and traditions perpetuated and narrated by INGOs on a global level. Traditional education systems often struggle to cope with the demands of rapidly changing situations and large numbers of displaced children. Thus, during mass migration, opportunity arises of private actors from INGOs to for-profit education providers, to step in and offer innovative solutions that can be quickly deployed to provide access to education. However, the profit motive associated with some private education providers diverts the attention from the fundamental goal of ensuring access to quality education for all, focusing instead on generating revenue. This creates a power dynamic, between emergency relief providing long-term refugee education and short-term revenue focused relief, implying that the Rohingya refugees currently residing in the densely populated region of Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh, are there temporarily. The study concludes by recognizing that context specific and ethnographic interventions by academic researchers towards refugee education, greatly benefit scholars in the education in emergencies sector. This is done, by learning of educational needs directly from those who need it, children of Rohingya refugee camps.

Author

• Tavila Haque, O.I.S.E. University of Toronto