Seputeh MP Teresa Kok backed proposals for refugees to work legally and for their children to have access to formal education. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: A backbencher has urged the government to review registration requirements for learning centres that teach refugee children to ensure that they have access to education.

Citing UNHCR data, Teresa Kok (PH-Seputeh) said there were 214,079 registered refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, of whom 64,224, or about 31%, were children.

She said about 65% of these children, or 41,745, did not have access to formal education.

"The registration requirements for alternative learning centres should be reviewed to balance quality assurance with operational realities," she told the Dewan Rakyat today.