Dhaka, July 16 -- The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is alarmed by the abrupt closure of learning centers in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, which will leave nearly 500,000 children without access to education by the end of September. The closures are the direct result of a deepening and acute funding crisis following significant cuts in support from the United States government and other donors.

Until the U.S. government's freezing of humanitarian aid brought education programs in Cox's Bazar to a halt in May, the IRC provided education programming to over 9,000 refugee children across five camps. Under the Education Cannot Wait program, the IRC worked alongside local partners to deliver early education for children age...