No changes to Afghan refugee schools’ textbooks: UNHCR

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Pakistan/ Afghan refugees/ Students attend a morning assembly at their school in the Khazana refugee camp, Peshawar. The camp was established when refugees flooded across the border from Afghanistan during the 1979 Soviet occupation. The refugee camp has a population of 2500 and during the 2010 floods that swept through Pakistan most families were affected. The majority of people rebuilt their houses after the floods with their own resources. The most vulnerable also received support from UNHCR for reconstruction. UNHCR/Sam Phelps/ November 2011

 

ISLAMABAD: The UN refugee agency said Monday that there have been no changes to the textbooks currently being used in refugee schools in Pakistan.

The education curriculum of Afghanistan is being used in refugee schools in Pakistan. This helps prepare pupils for their reintegration into the schooling system in Afghanistan should they decide to return, said a statement.

Curricula from a refugee’s home-country are also used in other refugee situations around the world.

Over a number of decades, UNHCR has provided funding to cover the printing costs of school textbooks for Afghan refugees. No textbooks have been or will be distributed to schools in refugee villages containing any objectionable content.

UNHCR’s practice is to inform the Pakistan government in advance of any potential changes relating to the education of Afghan refugee children. This will remain the case as the agency moves forward in partnership with the government of Pakistan on issues relating to Afghan refugees in the country, said the statement.