DHAKA: The Bangladeshi government will fund the primary education of Rohingya children living in refugee camps following the closure of thousands of UN-supported facilities due to budget shortages, authorities said on Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were forced to flee a military crackdown in Myanmar and take shelter in neighboring Bangladesh in 2017. Today, more than 1 million of them are cramped inside 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar district on the country’s southeast coast. About half are children.

The Bangladeshi government does not allow Rohingya children to enroll in regular public schools outside the camps under its longstanding policy to prevent long‑term integration. Since the beginning of the crisis, Bangladesh, which is not a signatory to the UN refugee convention, has made it clear that the Rohingya settlement is temporary.

Education has largely been organized by NGOs and UN agencies, providing basic literacy without recognized certificates. But many of these schools were forced to close last year, as foreign aid plunged — especially after the US, which contributed 55 percent of it, suspended most of its humanitarian operations.

To prevent the collapse of educational facilities, the Bangladeshi government on Tuesday for the first time approved state funding to keep them operational, with more than $16 million designated for primary education for Rohingya children under a World Bank grant.

“This World Bank funding will be used by UNICEF to operate learning centers in the Rohingya camps. As UNICEF is currently facing a severe funding shortage, the Bangladesh government has stepped in to provide support, with assistance from World Bank loans,” Mizanur Rahman, refugee relief and repatriation commissioner in Cox’s Bazar, told Arab News.

“Due to the funding crisis, most learning centers in the camps have suspended operations. With this new funding, many of these centers will be able to resume activities. There are around 8,000 learning centers in the camps, of which only about 4,000 are currently operating, while the other half remain closed.”

There are more than 400,000 school-age Rohingya children in the Bangladesh refugee camps. The Bangladeshi government’s support will reach 200,000 of them, with the teaching program based on the national curriculum of their home country, Myanmar.

About 1,100 teachers will be employed and trained to work with the children, Rahman said.

“The government has approved the funding primarily for one year, but the program will continue until 2027. Revised negotiations may take place later to consider a further extension.”