Teaching against the odds: Refugee becomes educator to ensure no child is left behind
SHAH ALAM – Prince, a Rohingya born in Penang began his journey as an educator at the tender age of 13.
His mission? To inspire fellow refugee children to persist in their education pursuits despite the challenges they face.
Despite being a refugee, Prince was fortunate to complete his entire education in Malaysia, starting from kindergarten, albeit at the age of eleven.
"I am very fortunate to pursue my education in Malaysia. I went through the entire education system and took my SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) in 2013 as a private candidate," he told Sinar Daily.
Prince attributes his academic success to the unwavering support from his friends and family, who kept pushing him to complete his education at every level.
He attended the Dignity for Children Foundation, a school predominantly comprising refugee children, for his pre-school, primary, secondary, college, and university studies.
Now 29, Prince teaches children in his neighbourhood, a role he embraced even while still a student at the age of 13.
"I devoted myself to one year of teaching the kids in my neighbourhood, where I developed the ongoing passion to keep teaching up until today," he said.
He currently runs an educational institution for refugee children with his partner, Aziza Asnizan.
"There was no one to guide me throughout the process; I just learned everything on my own.”
Prince's educational journey was marked by self-reliance and resilience. Without a mentor, he navigated his path independently and received a scholarship from Taylor's College, covering half of his tuition fees, allowing him to complete his South Australian Matriculation and subsequently gain admission to Monash University.
"I have been lucky in my education journey, which came with a lot of sacrifices as well from my parents, who pushed me to work hard and grab these opportunities.
"I continued voluntarily teaching until my early 20s and then developed my teaching entity for refugee kids, specifically the Rohingya refugee community who are of the same ethnicity, where I can build an empire of helping more refugees in the future," he said.
Through his brand, Arakan, he raises awareness about the importance of education for refugee children, emphasising that even a 13-year-old might still be catching up at a kindergarten level.
"I have educated my community to thrive and educated the world about the Rohingya refugee community as a whole and what we can do given the opportunities.
"I want to build an empire where I can help more refugees in our community while also uniting them and pushing them forward in life.
"It is something all of us can look forward to in life and that is the other reason why I came up with it," he said.
Prince's teaching institution aims to bridge educational gaps, helping refugee children progress academically including easing their adaptation to new syllabuses, as many struggle to meet the academic levels expected for their age.
