by Ro Maung Shwe
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh — September 28, 2026
Thousands of Rohingya students from community-led schools across the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar are taking part in the second mid-term examination organised under the Examination Board of Rohingya Refugee, or EBRR.
According to Ali Zuhar, a member of EBRR’s management committee responsible for information and database management, 3,817 students were registered for the 2026–2027 mid-term examination cycle.
The candidates include 2,375 Grade-5 students, 1,070 Grade-9 students and 372 Grade-12 students.
EBRR said the examinations follow Myanmar’s New Curriculum and cover three levels: Grade 5, Grade 9 and Grade 12.
The examination system is run through Rohingya community-led schools, which have emerged inside the camps as families and educators try to maintain access to structured education despite the limited formal educational pathways available to refugee children and young people.
108 community-led schools involved
According to EBRR, 108 community-led schools are participating in the current examination cycle.
The board said the participating institutions include 25 primary schools, 80 middle schools and 28 high schools. Some schools teach students at more than one level, meaning the categories overlap.
Many of these schools depend heavily on Rohingya teachers and community volunteers and operate with limited resources.
Community-led schools have become an important part of education inside the camps, particularly for students seeking to continue studies beyond the levels available through other learning programmes.
However, the schools do not form part of Bangladesh’s formal education system, leaving students with continuing uncertainty over the recognition and future use of their education and examination results.
32 temporary examination halls
EBRR said it designated 32 temporary examination halls across the camps for the mid-term examinations.
Twenty-seven halls were assigned for Grade-5 and Grade-9 candidates, while five were designated for Grade-12 students.
Because there are no permanent examination facilities for the board, community spaces are being used as temporary venues, including community centres, cyclone shelters, moktabs and school buildings.
For Grade 5 and Grade 9, examination halls were designated in Camps 1W, 3, 6, 7, 8E, 8W, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18 and 20.
Grade-12 examination centres were designated in Camps 3, 6, 9, 11 and 15.
EBRR said distributing the centres across different camps was intended to reduce the distance students would need to travel to sit for the examinations.
Examination divided into two phases
The examination schedule has also been shaped by the working conditions of Rohingya teachers and volunteers.
According to EBRR, some teachers and people involved in organising the examinations also work with humanitarian organisations or NGOs. Because they cannot always take leave for community-school activities, the board arranged the examinations around public holidays.
The first phase was scheduled for September 24–26.
EBRR said a second phase would be held during government holidays in the following week.
The arrangement was intended to make teachers and other personnel available for invigilation and examination management while reducing conflicts with their other work.
Education under prolonged uncertainty
Education has remained one of the major concerns for Rohingya families living in Bangladesh since the mass displacement from Arakan in 2017.
Although learning programmes operate across the camps, opportunities for recognised secondary and higher education remain extremely limited.
In response, Rohingya educators and families have developed their own schools and learning networks, often relying on volunteer teachers, community spaces and locally organised resources.
The EBRR examination system is one attempt to create a common assessment process across some of those schools.
For students, however, the system also reflects a larger uncertainty. They may study a structured curriculum, sit for examinations and receive results, while the formal recognition and future educational value of those qualifications remain unclear.
The current examination cycle therefore shows both the scale of Rohingya-led education inside the camps and the limits under which it operates.
According to EBRR, this is the second consecutive examination cycle organised through the board.
The organisation says participation has expanded to 3,817 students across 108 community-led schools.
For the students sitting these examinations, the immediate task is straightforward: complete their papers and move to the next stage of study. What remains far less certain is where that education can ultimately take them.
