Border News Agency
Cox’s Bazar,June 15, 2025

Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown have issued a strong joint call to expand education opportunities for Rohingya refugee children living in Bangladesh. The appeal comes amid growing fears that a generation of stateless children is being left behind without access to formal schooling.

In a high-level phone conversation on Friday, the two global figures discussed Bangladesh’s economic recovery and emphasized the pressing need to address the educational crisis affecting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya children living in overcrowded refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Professor Yunus, who is currently in the UK, praised Bangladesh’s ongoing efforts to manage the refugee crisis and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to finding global solutions. He emphasized the need to secure international support to ensure the Rohingya children do not become a “lost generation.”

Gordon Brown, now serving as the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, backed Yunus’s call and promised to work closely with Bangladesh and international agencies to improve access to learning for the refugee children. He also expressed his willingness to visit Bangladesh in the near future to help push the issue forward.

Currently, more than half a million Rohingya children in the camps are deprived of proper education. While some children attend informal learning centers run by aid agencies, they lack access to a recognized curriculum and formal certification. The Bangladeshi government does not currently permit Rohingya children to be enrolled in the national education system.

Brown and Yunus jointly urged for immediate international cooperation to provide quality, certified education to Rohingya children using the Myanmar curriculum in exile, and to scale up education access beyond primary level. They highlighted that education is not only a basic human right but also essential to peace, security, and long-term solutions for displaced populations.

Their joint advocacy adds momentum to the growing international pressure on governments and humanitarian organizations to prioritize refugee education. UN agencies and global education partners have repeatedly warned that without urgent intervention; the lack of education will worsen the already fragile situation in the camps.

Professor Yunus and Gordon Brown called on the global community, donor countries, and civil society to act swiftly and decisively, stating that “the future of an entire generation is at stake.”

The proposed education reforms would not only provide children with learning opportunities but also offer hope and stability for one of the world’s most vulnerable communities.