PLOS ONE Undocumented: An examination of legal identity and education provision for children in Malaysia “But the problem is like this—In our school, even though the student is good academically, but he has no documents, therefore even if he wants to enter a IPT [Institute of Higher Learning or a public university], he cannot because he is undocumented or has incomplete documents. Because of that it is even difficult to get a [decent] job because there are no documents. That’s the problem!” POL-04 Translated from the Malay Language Undocumented children of undetermined citizenship. Children abandoned at birth or ‘foundlings’ are unable to prove their parentage. Thus, they are of undetermined citizenship and are particularly vulnerable to statelessness. Our interviewees informed us that even ‘foundling’ children residing in government welfare homes were unable to register in public schools, due to incomplete documentation. Instead, some undertake vocational training within the welfare institutions, although they are unable to receive the Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (Malaysian Skills Certificate), unlike their counterparts with Malaysian citizenship. Interviewees also informed us that despite the efforts of the government welfare institutes, some undocumented children who were institutionalised from birth may leave care at the age of 18 years, without obtaining Malaysian citizenship. Refugees and asylum-seekers in Peninsular Malaysia. Refugee and asylum-seekers access informal education through learning centres, either partnered with the UNHCR or entirely community-based. Other options include Madrasah or Tahfiz schools that focus on Islamic religious education (run separately from the religious schools catering to Malaysians) and private international schools for those who could afford them. Although some have accessed public schools in the past, this is not an option for refugee and asylum-seeking children at present. Learning centres for refugees. Learning centres are not regulated by the government, nor do they have a standardised syllabus, teachers qualifications requirements, fee structures or admission policies resulting in a great variety in quality. Learning centres catering for refugees may be independent or registered with the UNHCR. As of March 2020, there were 126 learning centres recognised by UNHCR in Peninsular Malaysia, with most located within the Klang Valley (84%). Nearly all learning centres provide pre-primary (86%) and primary education (94%), but only one-fifth (21%) provide secondary education. While the majority use the English language as the medium of instruction (95%), many centres also teach Bahasa Malaysia or refugee languages [78]. The UNHCR advocates for refugee children’s access to education by providing financial and material support to recognised learning centres. UNHCR acts as a coordinator to enhance the quality of education for refugees by building capacity for teachers [43]. All learning centres recognised by UNHCR are issued protection letters, stating that the agency is fully aware and supports initiatives to provide education for the refugee community. The letter also states that students attending the centres are ‘persons of concern’, which allows students some protection from harassment. The UNHCR has identified six implementing partners to serve its objectives in improving access and learning opportunities for the refugees living in Malaysia. These key partners tend to be larger education providers with stronger track records compared to smaller learning centres. A key partner may have enrolments of up to 1,800 students at a given time. Learning centres are not allowed to use the Malaysian syllabus, as they are not recognised as schools by the Ministry of Education. We found that some learning centres may use a curriculum that is best described as ‘mix and match’ by interviewees. The syllabus used may be based on Malaysian or other countries’ national syllabus and is influenced by the availability of textbooks and other resources, and instructors’ familiarity with the material. Education providers informed that learning centres cater to the needs of the community, and for some refugee PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263404 February 2, 2022 14 / 26