Seputeh MP Teresa Kok has urged the Ministry of Education (MOE) to give refugee children an opportunity to enrol in government schools.
In a Facebook post, Teresa said the proposal was outlined in the Committee’s Report on Refugee Management in Malaysia, which was debated in the Dewan Rakyat on 5 October.
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Teresa Kok warns number of refugee childreen missing education could be far higher
Kok also highlighted UNHCR data showing that 214,079 refugees and asylum seekers are currently registered with the agency in Malaysia, including 64,224 children.
She noted that 65% of refugee children do not have access to formal education, meaning around 41,745 children are missing out on formal schooling.
“I read the report very carefully because the issue of refugees is very close to my heart. It is also an issue that NGOs and foreign diplomats frequently bring up during meetings.
“The Select Committee’s Report on the Management of Refugees in Malaysia also gave me a better understanding of the efforts taken by various government agencies to address the issue,” she wrote.
Kok warned that the actual number of refugee children without access to formal education could be much higher, as the current figures only include those registered with UNHCR.
She said the 41,745 children cited in the report represented only registered refugees, adding that the actual number could be two or three times higher when unregistered refugees are taken into account.
“We should be concerned about what will happen to this young generation who are growing up without access to formal education,” she said.
“I hope MOE takes the necessary steps”
Kok said the need to provide refugee children with access to education was especially important given the number of them already living in Malaysia.
She pointed to the parliamentary committee’s report, which highlighted UNHCR’s proposal to allow refugee children to enrol in government schools, with support from UNHCR and its education partners to help them transition into the education system.
The report also recommended reviewing the regulations and registration requirements for Alternative Learning Centres, with the aim of balancing quality standards with the challenges faced by these centres.
“I fully support this proposal by UNHCR, and I hope MOE takes the necessary steps to implement it so that our country does not end up with a generation of stateless and illiterate young people who were raised here,” she said.
She also called for broader improvements to Malaysia’s refugee management system, including the implementation of the Refugee Registration Document (DPP).
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