He said that students, parents and camp officers attended the ceremony at Nayapara camp where Shujid Mewar the camp's education officer and Jalal Uddin the camp supervisor made speeches and gave prizes to the students who came top of their classes.

According to Aman a Nayapara Camp Committee member Jalal Uddin, in his speech at the ceremony, said that most Rohingyas are uneducated, which can lead to extreme hardships for them. If they get an education their future will be more prosperous and it is very important for the Rohingya community to be educated as education is the backbone of the nation.

Aman said that when Shujid Mewar spoke at the ceremony he asked the parents to send their children to school to get educated and said that the camp would support future education programmes.

After the speeches were made the prizes were distributed. Almost 100 students received prizes, as did some teachers.

Prize giving time at the event

Wahid from Kutupalong refugee camp said that there was a similar ceremony at Kutupalong Camp that was attended by refugees, students and other local officials. The Kutapalong Camp Supervisor made a speech and was the main guest of honour.

Between them the two official camps house over 32,000 refugees, with over 19,000 in Nayapara and over 13,000 in Kutupalong.

Habib a teacher from Nayapara camp said that there are over 4,000 students being taught by 80 teachers in 11 schools at Nayapara while in Kutupalong Camp there are 4,500 students studying in 12 schools.

At present refugee students can only study up to grade seven. Ahmed, a Refugee Committee member from Nayapara camp, said that the refugees have asked the relevant authorities and foreign delegations to provide opportunities for further study.

Habib said that the camp education programmes are supported by the IKEA Foundation, the UNHCR (United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees), Save the Children and VERC (Village Education Relief Center),

Edited in English by Mark inkey for BNI