Instilling hope through education

Asfia Tarannoom is a UN Volunteer Education Officer with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Bangladesh. She supports quality education for Rohingya children and youth in Cox’s Bazar.  For Asfia, her assignment is part of UNICEF's humanitarian education response and makes a positive difference to thousands of learners living in harsh conditions in the camp. This is her story.

Asfia joined UNICEF Bangladesh in 2023. She brings a wealth of experience in early childhood education, play-based pedagogy, curriculum development, teachers’ professional development, and research.  

As an Education Officer, Asfia regularly monitors classrooms. She gives feedback to teachers on widening their skills, refining teaching techniques, and promoting a positive learning environment. All of this directly impacts academic performance.

She co-designed a classroom observation tool that enhances learning in the camps. The tool allows peer-monitoring, as part of a wider package of Teacher Professional Development activities with UNICEF staff and Rohingya facilitators.

Asfia also leads the consolidation and analysis of monthly data of Rohingya learners and teachers from around 4,300 learning facilities implemented by eight partner organizations. Her analysis is valuable for the education sector dashboard, donor reports, and education materials for learners and learning facilities.

The data analysis and monthly monitoring inform programming decisions and data-informed initiatives. Asfia played a substantial role in the recently ended Myanmar curriculum annual assessment and placement tests to enroll new learners. She compiled and analyzed data of test takers including out-of-school children for planning assessment-related logistics. "Education is a basic human right," she says.

Witnessing the impact of my volunteer work and how it fosters a positive learning environment in the camp setting is rewarding. This is what keeps me waking up the next day; and motivates me to continue working with other colleagues in the camp to ensure that Rohingya children and youth are educated." Asfia Tarannoom UN Volunteer Education Officer with UNICEF, Bangladesh.

As of December 2023, the centers accommodate 336,766 children and youth aged between 3 to 24 years enrolled in education programmes. These impart early childhood education, primary, secondary, and skill-based learning. 

Moses Yao Korbli, Information Management Officer with UNICEF in Cox's Bazar supervises Asfia and speaks highly of her valuable contribution. "Asfia joined the education team as a UN Volunteer with expertise in research and Early Childhood Development. Later, she enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to join the information management team, demonstrating her can-do spirit, adaptability, and eagerness to learn."

Asfia became proficient in data analysis and visualization, ultimately leading her to fully assume the role of coordinating and compiling monthly data for UNICEF's education response. The data is instrumental in donor reporting and informing programming decisions." Moses Yao Korbli, Information Management Officer with UNICEF, Cox's Bazar.

One million people from Myanmar Rohingya communities, half of them children, have been living in the densely populated camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh since 2017.