The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that there should be no discrimination in providing education to the children of Rohingya immigrants, Bar and Bench reported.

The bench of Justices Surya Kant and NK Singh was responding to a public interest litigation by the non-governmental organisation Rohingya Human Rights Initiative.

The organisation sought that government benefits and school admissions should be given to Rohingya refugee families irrespective of their citizenship status and without insisting on them having Aadhaar numbers, Live Law reported.

“In terms of education, there will be no discrimination,” the court said. “We need to know where they are and then arrange it. We must satisfy ourselves where they are staying and how they are living.”

The court also told the organisation: “Don’t tell us about students. Tell us about parents. Where are they staying…tell us house number, list of families, some proof of where they are.”

Lawyer Colin Gonsalves, representing the petitioners, told the court that Rohingya families in India hold cards issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees affirming their status as refugees, according to Bar and Bench.

“These are the persons who are not able to get admissions,” Gonsalves said. “It is a desperate situation.”

The Supreme Court will hear the case next on February 28.

In October, the Delhi High Court had refused to entertain a similar petition seeking directions to the government in the capital to grant school admissions to Rohingya children. The court added that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs should be approached in the matter.

Described by the United Nations as “the most persecuted minority in the world”, the Rohingya Muslim community has not been officially recognised in their native Myanmar, where they have faced violence for over four decades. They began entering India in 2012, with their numbers reporting an increase in 2017 in the face of a military crackdown against the community in their country.

Also read: After surviving a genocide, Rohingya refugees are struggling to find jobs and dignity in India