HYDERABAD: Unable to converse in any of the local languages is the setback for refugee children from the Rohingya community settled in the city. Hence, getting educated in a mainstream government school is a far-sighted dream for them.
However, the curriculum for refugee children to be integrated into mainstream schools, designed by the Department of Education, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) of Telangana was released on Wednesday.
“They drop out due to these reasons. They are comfortable segregating waste and helping their parents rather than struggling to study in school,” said Prashanthi Bathina, project coordinator from Save The Children.
“The curriculum is divided into three levels and is spread over 10 months. Most of them are acquainted with Urdu and Hindi. We use these languages as the basis and help them learn the universal language - English. They pick up basic communication skills and also some idea of the subjects they are going to learn in schools,” explained Prashanthi.
As part of the pilot project, children from the Day School that was set up by Save the Children in association with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be learning this curriculum.
“This also helps the girls in the Rohingya community to step out of the house. Elders are particular about their safety and security. The day school is in their locality which solves this major problem. The curriculum is also inclusive, conflict-sensitive to needs of these children,” added Prashanthi.
Currently, 150 students are part of the day school and Prashanthi believes that at least 120 of these students will be integrated into mainstream schools by June 2017.