Why denying Rohingya children admission to schools is a human rights violation

As India grapples with the Donald Trump government’s crackdown on illegal immigration, the Supreme Court is hearing a writ petition to grant a stay on a December 2024 Delhi government circular refusing admission to Rohingya children who the government categorises as “illegal migrants”.

On December 23, Atishi, then the Delhi chief minister, said on X “...the Education Department of Delhi Government has passed a strict order that no Rohingya should be given admission in the government schools of Delhi”. While the circular only specifically says “illegal Bangladeshi migrants”, Atishi’s post on X clarifies that the denial of admission would extend to stateless Rohingya children in Delhi.

Over the years, the presence of Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers in India has become a political issue, particularly before elections. In Nuh, Rohingya settlements were bulldozed for allegedly illegally occupying land after the riots in 2023 by local police, said media reports. In August 2022, former housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that Rohingya would be given housing in Delhi, which snowballed into a controversy and was eventually denied by the home affairs minister Amit Shah. According to the 2025 Human Rights Watch report, “Rohingya Muslim refugees in India faced tightened restrictions, arbitrary detention, violent attacks often incited by political leaders, and a heightened risk of...

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