PLOS ONE Undocumented: An examination of legal identity and education provision for children in Malaysia communities it would suffice to provide basic language for communication with locals and informal employment. And yet, interviewees revealed that refugee education often emphasises preparation for resettlement in English-speaking countries such as the USA, Canada, Australia, and others. In practice, this means learning centres prioritise the use of the English language and international syllabi (IGCSE or British O levels) wherever possible. Unfortunately, the limiting factor is the prohibitive fees for international examinations, and children must rely on private sponsors for financial support. Therefore, only a handful of students, at select learning centres sit for IGSCE examinations. Refugees and asylum-seekers tend to attend schools run by their communities. Their differing backgrounds confer different levels of social or cultural capital to education access. Interviewees explained that although learning centres using international syllabi are sought after by non-Rohingya communities, all refugees should aspire for better education for resettlement. “But the non-Rohingya [refugees], the Arabs, the Africans, they sit for international syllabus, and they need to. Actually, even the Rohingya should. Because ultimately, you’re going to be resettled, right? So, whether they sit for the local syllabus or the international syllabus, at the end of the day, what they can do with it is limited, right? What can they do with the certificate?” CO-01 Non-citizen children are unable to sit for Malaysian school leaving certificate examinations and learning centres ‘certificates of completion’ are not recognised in Malaysia or elsewhere. Hence, this is the inevitable “glass ceiling” that hinders entry into tertiary education and better career prospects for non-citizen children in Malaysia. Together with the lack of the right to work in Malaysia, the lack of recognised education is demotivating for children. The inability of refugee parents to obtain formal employment also indirectly affects children’s access to education. We found that it is relatively common for refugee and asylum-seeking students to drop out of school at the post-primary level, to help supplement the family income. This may also explain the paucity of refugee learning centres that offer secondary education in Malaysia. Islamic religious schools. Islamic religious schools (madrasah or tahfiz) in Malaysia may be broadly classified as state-funded or private religious schools. State-funded religious schools are financed either by the federal government (under the Ministry of Education) or by state governments (registered with state religious authorities). These schools are for Malaysian citizens and follow the national curriculum. Private religious schools receive private funding and are not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education [79,80]. Some community-run private religious schools cater solely to refugees, and several of these are registered with the UNHCR and receive partial oversight from religious institutions such as JAKIM (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia). According to interviewees, many religious schools catering to the Rohingya community are unregistered and unregulated. Religious schools attended by Rohingya may be operated by community members who were religious teachers back in Myanmar, but there is no standardisation of teachers’ credentials. Those interviewed expressed concern about the quality of education at religious schools as instruction concentrates on Quranic recitation and religious education and may not include a standardised academic curriculum. However, enrolment in a religious school may be the only viable option for refugee parents especially if they are unaware of alternatives. These religious schools are responsive to the Rohingya community’s need for religious instruction in their native language and are affordable. PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263404 February 2, 2022 15 / 26