SHAH ALAM: Being hardcore poor as a refugee should not be reason for one to be deprived of an education.
This is the strong message from the Organisation of Graduates of Educational Institutions Malaysia (Haluan).
Haluan's welfare and humanitarian bureau vice-president Dr Baharudin Suri stressed that more than 23,000 refugee children living in Malaysia were being denied schooling.
"We are aware that refugee children have no right to public education in this country, thus they only rely on community-based organisations and non-governmental organisations for basic learning of skills.
"Without proper basic education, these young and growing generation will certainly face a lot of setbacks in term of social life.
"Their lives will be dependent on the welfare of charities and they will also resort to negative coping-mechanisms like child marriages, crime and human trafficking for their daily survival.
"Furthermore, people will feel threatened because they are seen as aliens or parasites to the local community.
"This may cause unnecessary tension between locals and refugees," he said this at the closing ceremony for the 'Rohingya Community Educare Centre (RCEC)-Haluan Teacher's Training Programme' at the Mardhiyyah Hotel and Suites.
Present were United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) assistant education officer Mimi Zarina Azmin, Nama Foundation partnership and public relations head Md Ghani Ibrahim, Haluan's special assistance mission head Prof Dr Mohtar Ibrahim and its RCES manager Mohd Jamil Muda.
The three-day programme, themed 'One Thousand Steps to IGCSE Starts Today', was conducted at the Ash Shura Institute of Quaranic Sciences in Shah Alam.
Thirteen teachers, from three RCEC facilities in Seri Kembangan, Alor Star and Kuala Terengganu, graduated from the programme that was funded by Nama Foundation chief executive officer Dr Saleh Mubarak Bazead.
Baharudin revealed that as of last year, out of 180,440 refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, 155,400 were from Myanmar with 103,380 of them ethnic Rohingya.
"And out of that, more than 23,000 are school-going children who really need basic education for their future life.
"Unfortunately, only around 30 per cent of them are enrolled in community learning centres throughout the country, with a much lower percentage pursuing secondary education," said Baharudin.
For this reason, he said, Haluan and other NGOs sought help and advice from UNCHR to establish education programmes for the unfortunate refugee children from countries like Palestine, Syria and Myanmar.
"Their basic education entails the '3M' concept (membaca, menulis dan mengira - or learn, write and count).
"Later on, we added subjects such as science, languages, computer and soft skills training through the 'Smart Kids' programmes.
"This is to produce more capable students, much better when compared to the traditional community-based centres that focused on religious matters.
"We noticed a difference in terms of behaviour, attitude and communication skills among the 'Smart Kids' children," Baharudin said.
He hoped that in time more refugees could pursue a secondary and even tertiary education as a survival in the modern borderless era.
"Our united aim is to provide these unfortunate children with an integrated education so that their socioeconomic wellbeing will become a reality.
"We hope the noble combined efforts will at least give a glimpse of light ahead for their better future, and not as a persecuted people anymore," said Baharudin.
On the teacher's training programme, Baharudin was confident it had provided the participants an important and valuable knowledge in the field of education related to the methods, goals and the way forward.
"Hopefully with this valuable and beneficial course, you are steps ahead in dealing with an updated methodology of teaching and preparing students for a future better education.
"We are also planning more related courses to equip and upgrade our teachers to a certain standard, in order to deliver a better education and skills for the students," said Baharudin.
Meanwhile, Mimi Zarina pointed out that there were 180,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, with 26 per cent of them children.
Of the figure, 39,900 children were of school-going age, she said.
"Education is a basic right accorded to every child (under the UN charter).
"They have a right to live in dignity. Education sits at the core of refugee protection and it is essential for every refugee child to learn and acquire skills.
"Global security for all of us cannot be achieved if there remains pockets of marginalised children.
"Even if we only manage to move an inch at a time, with collective efforts and strategic collaborations, we will reach many kilometres eventually," she said, adding that UNHCR had managed to support the enrolment of some 14,000 refugee children at 135 learning centres in Malaysia.
Mimi Zarina added that Malaysia had a role to play in providing refugee children an avenue for wholesome and creative education, so that they could grow into self-reliant and independent adults equipped to serve society meaningfully.
"Malaysia has a role to promote global solidarity and inclusiveness through education – including skills trainings - for all, so that these refugee children can return home as resourceful persons," she said.
She observed that Rohingya children were fast learners.
"More support is needed to promote hybrid learning modalities, including e-learning using tablets, laptops and smart phones that should be accessible for all refugee children," Mimi Zarina said.
She recounted how a Rohingya girl named Sajedah, who had moved to the United States after completing secondary education, had secured a scholarship to pursue medicine.
Sajedah had written of her gratitude to her primary school teachers in Penang.
Sajedah, Mimi Zarina said, praised her teachers for providing her the foundation in education that enabled her to be placed in a grade comparative to her age at school in her new country.