The delivery of new textbooks has launched a government and UN-backed effort to prepare hundreds of thousands of Rohingya youngsters for a future return to Myanmar.

Around 400,000 school-aged children are among the more than 1 million Rohingya Muslims residing in a fishing port in southern Bangladesh after escaping violence and persecution in Myanmar.

Over 300,000 pupils get basic education in 3,400 informal learning facilities established by UN agencies and aid partners in Cox’s Bazar’s refugee camps.

Last November, Bangladeshi authorities and the UN started the Myanmar Curriculum Pilot project, which aims to prepare Rohingya youngsters for a future return to their country. It was put on hold for a year and a half because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

“The MCP was launched in November 2021. UNICEF aims to scale up in phases so that by 2023, all school-aged children are taught through the Myanmar curriculum,” Moyukh Mahtab, UNICEF spokesperson based in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, told media.

Last November, Bangladeshi authorities and the UN started the Myanmar Curriculum Pilot project, which aims to prepare Rohingya youngsters for a future return to their country. It was put on hold for a year and a half because to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Under the MCP, Rohingya refugee children are taught English, mathematics, sciences and social studies, including history and geography,” Mahtab said.

Khan Mohammed Ferdous, an education sector lead of UN aid partner Brac at Cox’s Bazar, said the students go to classes six days a week and spend at least three hours daily there.

“Common placement tests were conducted to find the competency of the students, and based on this the students were enrolled from grade six to nine. Five teachers will be there in each of the learning centers to teach all the subjects,” Ferdous told the media.

The Myanmar curriculum, in which lessons are taught in English and the official Myanmar language, Burmese, has brought hope to the Rohingya children in Cox’s Bazar.

“Now, I can continue my study just like in my homeland. After returning home, I would be able to communicate with the people in my community,” sixth-grader Hafsa Akter, who dreams of becoming a doctor, told the media.

“If we receive a standard education, it will help us in pursuing a good career. I want to be a politician after completing my education because, with this profession, I would be able to change the fate of our community,” seventh-grader Moung Soe Myint told Media.

“Now I can dream of a better future.”

Nur Khan, a prominent human rights activist in Bangladesh, said authorities in the country should partner with UN officials to engage their Myanmar counterparts in discussions and ensure refugee children can also receive certification for their studies that are acknowledged in Myanmar.

“And the discussion should also include and ensure a dignified and voluntary repatriation of the refugees,” he told Media.

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