YANGON (UCAN): About 13,700 of Myanmar’s 48,753 public schools have been closed due to the country’s civil war, Radio Free Asia [RFA] reported on July 8 referring to the military junta’s Ministry of Education.
“Children have suffered a lot in education,” U Htay, a resident of Ma Taw village in Sagaing’s Mingin township, told RFA.
“They have lost their dream. We see that their potential to become outstanding citizens is being destroyed,” Htay added.
Less than three per cent of schools [38 out of 1500] in western Chin state are still open, according to the education ministry’s data.
Meanwhile, more than 4,200 schools have been closed in the neighbouring Sagaing region which saw elevated levels of insurgency by members of the majority Burman community following the February 2021 coup which saw the military junta grabbing power from the democratically elected government of the National League for Democracy of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking international condemnation [Sunday Examiner, 7 February 2021].
The junta troops often target civilian homes and other buildings, including schools, during or after ground battles with insurgents, RFA reported.
They have lost their dream. We see that their potential to become outstanding citizens is being destroyed
Most schools remain open in the commercial capital of Yangon and nearby Ayeyarwady region, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, the shadowy National Unity Government [NUG] formed by pro-democracy politicians and allies following the coup has opened more than 4,300 schools nationwide in areas controlled by insurgent forces, according to RFA.
“But even those schools have been targeted by the junta’s indiscriminate airstrikes,” said Sai Khine Myo Tun, the NUG’s deputy minister for education.
Reportedly, the intense fighting in eastern Kayah state has also put students at risk. However, the Karenni State Interim Executive Council said that it has opened more than 400 schools since 2021.
Myanmar’s internal conflict has resulted in mass displacement of people internally and to neighbouring nations.
Around 2.7 million have fled their homes since the military coup, reports say.
Public schools in Myanmar were closed for a staggering 532 days between February 2020 and 2022, making it the country with the longest school closures in the East Asia and Pacific region, according to the World Bank Group.
The military regime had directed the reopening of schools in November 2021, the group said in its 2023 report.
