A representative of an international NGO said of the closure of learning centers in Cox's Bazar: “Nobody wants to take education away from children, least of all [from] children who come from families that have already endured so much trauma and hardship. However, funding shortfalls have forced us to make the incredibly difficult decision to shut thousands of learning centers.”
Date: 6/25
Region: South Asia
Country: Bangladesh
Topic: Refugees & Displacement, Education
Policy Lens: Migration & Mobility
Entry Type: Field Observation
Additional Context: This statement is attributed to Golam Mostofa, director for Save the Children in Cox’s Bazar. According to Save the Children, the closure of learning centers affected about 300,000 Rohingya children attending programs run by UNICEF, Save the Children, and other local partners.
Devex Researcher Note: UNICEF notes that around 150,000 children had the opportunity to resume learning after extensive fundraising efforts, but warns that the threat of funding shortfalls in early 2026 risks closing all schools again. Between 2024 and 2025, the U.S. government halved its contributions to address the Rohingya refugee crisis. In part as a result of this, the humanitarian education cluster operating out of Bangladesh had only secured about $16.9 million of its $71.5 million annual budget needs, forcing a wide reduction in services.
Source: Save the Children