Rohingya children living outside of ‘displacement’ camps also struggle to access education. While there are generally primary schools in or close to Rohingya villages and village tracts, government teachers are often reluctant to go in to Rohingya villages, citing fear for their security. 56 The situation is not helped by the fact that younger, less experienced teachers are often assigned to schools in Rakhine State. 57 Pervasive, harmful, and false stereotypes about Rohingya – in particular men – mean that young female teachers are often reluctant to teach in Rohingya areas. Access to secondary education is even more limited, as secondary schools are often located further away from Rohingya villages. Formal restrictions on the movement of Rohingya people mean that travel to schools can be very difficult, costly and dangerous, meanwhile fears of communal violence make parents reluctant to send their children these institutions.58 With access to government education limited, in some areas, the Rohingya community has sought to educate children using local villagers (often more educated members of the community) as teachers. However, many of these teachers lack sufficient training and education. The reliance on informal community teachers also means it is difficult for Rohingya children to learn the Myanmar and Rakhine languages, which can prevent them from integrating into Rakhine State and wider Myanmar society.59 While all Rohingya children struggle to access education in Rakhine state, girls face specific obstacles and access becomes more challenging as they grow older. Families often prioritise education for boys, whereas when girls reach adolescence they are expected to stay at home and undertake cleaning and childcare duties. Traditional attitudes also mean that parents are often reluctant to send their adolescent girls to attend mixed-sex classes. Since 2012, movement restrictions and discriminatory policies have made it has almost impossible for Rohingya to access university education, and they have been unable to physically attend the university in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State for undefined ‘security’ reasons. In its final report, the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State – a body set up by the then NLD government to seek solutions to the challenges in the state – called on the government to “expand access to post-primary education for children from all communities” and “find ways and means to also permit their physical presence at university in Rakhine State”.60 While there were efforts to begin online distance learning programmes, these have been insufficient and subject to disruption after the government imposed restrictions on the internet in large parts of the State from June 2019. Rohingya have also complained that the quality of instruction remains low, and they are limited to studying specific courses. More recently, there have been efforts to facilitate young Rohingya adults to access university education in other parts of the country, and in 2020 around 100 students were able to leave Rakhine State and start their degrees.61 However, a precondition for travel is possession of an NVC card, which, for reasons outlined earlier in this section, is something students are reluctant to accept. 3 COUNTRY BY COUNTRY SNAPSHOT middle schools and one high school offering education for the entire population of ‘displaced’ Rohingya children. Only children who live close by – or whose parents can afford to send them and pay for accommodation – are able to attend. COVID-19 has had a further impact on children’s access to education, as all schools in Myanmar have been closed since March 2020. According to a World Bank report, during this time only 9% of children nationwide accessed education materials online, while 75% of children in the lowest wealth quintile did not engage in any form of learning activities during the 2020–2021 school year.62 For communities living in Rakhine State, restrictions on mobile internet from June 2019 had meant that children’s access to online information – if they could afford to get online – was already severely curtailed.63 Since the coup d’etat on 1 February, the Myanmar military has restricted internet and telecommunications across the country, which has further disrupted students’ ability to access online learning. PROTECTION CONCERNS Rohingya children in Rakhine State experience wide-ranging and multifaceted protection challenges. These include poverty, child labour, physical and sexual violence, child marriage, protracted displacement, and drug abuse. Many of these challenges also adversely affect children’s mental health. Denied education and with few opportunities to improve their lives, children’s mental and psychological well-being is also seriously impacted. This in turn can have a negative impact on their cognitive, social, emotional and physical development. Without freedom of movement and with limited employment opportunities, the vast 11