Creating education opportunities for girls with disabilities - Myanmar

Above: Showkat (right) and her mother, Arefa, outside their shelter in the IDP camp. Image: Shin Thandar, Lutheran World Federation.

Fifteen-year-old Showkat* lives with her family of nine in an internal displaced persons (IDP) camp in Myanmar’s Central Rakhine State and has never had the chance to attend school. The camp is one of many that more than 144,000 internally displaced Rohingya call home.

Approximately 20% of the Rohingya community in Central Rakhine State are children and, like Showkat, they are largely unable to access formal education outside of the camps, and instead attend non-formal education programs through Temporary Learning Centres. These Temporary Learning Centres are typically supported by NGOs and staffed by volunteer teachers.

The Australian Government is providing humanitarian assistance to these children through the Myanmar Humanitarian Package (2020-2022), which includes the Myanmar Education in Emergencies** response, implemented through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP). The Education in Emergencies response focuses on providing education opportunities for children like Showkat who are unable to access formal education.  

In addition to the challenges faced as an internally displaced person, Showkat lives with disabilities – she cannot speak and is not is not fully physically mobile. Showkat’s mother, Arefa*, provided some insight into what this means for Showkat and her schooling.

“Showkat noticed when her playmates were going to school and she asked me to send her to the school. We tried once in kindergarten, but the teachers couldn’t care for her as they have so many students to look after,” Arefa said.

Above: As a displaced person,, a female and a person living with disabilities, Showat faces numerous challenges in accessing education. Image: Shin Thandar, Lutheran World Federation.

The AHP Education in Emergencies response is focused on ensuring children like Showkat can access an education. With a particular focus on girls and children with disabilities, AHP partners are working with teachers and communities to encourage girls to attend the learning centres and to encourage families to ensure children with disabilities also attend.  

The AHP response is also focused on understanding the specific barriers faced by students like Showkat and what needs to be put in place to ensure children with disabilities can access the temporary learning centres and be appropriately supported. This could include physical improvements to the learning centre structures, the provision of assistive devices and training for teachers on how to identify and support children with disabilities in the classroom.

The AHP response supports the provision of non-formal primary education and non-formal middle school education in the IDP camps, which will allow students like Showkat to learn according to an accelerated programme designed to support integration into mainstream schooling.

*Names have been changed.

** The AHP Education in Emergencies response is being delivered through a consortium comprising Save the Children Australia (lead agency), Plan International, Humanity and Inclusion and Lutheran World Federation. Muslim Aid-UK is also supporting the response.