pathway to formal education for children who do not have at least one Malaysian national parent or guardian. Even for children with a qualifying parent or guardian, enrollment costs, book fees, and exam admission fees can present a barrier. As a result of these shortcomings, a parallel system of alternative “charity schools” (Pusat Pembangunan Minda Insan, or PPMI) continue to provide informal schooling to some refugee and stateless children. In Indonesia, despite the instructions in the 2019 circular letter, only 577 of an estimated 3,800 refugee children have access to public, nationally accredited schools. Further, although the circular allows refugee children to access schools in theory, they are not permitted to sit for national exams without a national ID, thus hampering the ability of these children to enroll in secondary and tertiary-level educational institutes. THAILAND For several years, Thailand’s Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Education have engaged in survey initiatives to register stateless children and enroll them in schools in order to ensure that the civil registration and documentation pathways made available to stateless children are put into practice and result in access to education. MALAYSIA The Ministry of Education in Malaysia issued a standard operation procedure on January 15, 2018 clarifying that some stateless children were to be granted access to education, and announced a “Zero Rejections” policy in 2019 with the aim of ensuring that all children, regardless of legal status, have access to education. INDONESIA Indonesia’s Ministry of Education issued a circular on July 10, 2019 instructing state and municipal authorities to allow stateless and refugee children to enroll in schools, settling doubts on the part of administrators regarding their eligibility.110 In light of these persistent implementation challenges, issuance of clear guidance from central governments, including in the context of Malaysia and Indonesia, can help overcome obstacles from lower-level administrators that results in blocking access to education. Considering the immense public benefit of advancing education, addressing bureaucratic obstacles and removing barriers to accessing education should be made a political priority. The government of Pakistan has set a positive example in this regard through their focus on the importance of providing education to refugee children from day one of their displacement, so as to encourage and enable self-reliance and self-sufficiency during and beyond the situation of displacement.111 32 UND OING PRECARIT Y: ELE VATING P OSITIVE PR ACTICES FOR REFU GEE PROTECTION IN SO U TH AND SO U THE AST ASIA