The education of school-age children in Nyaunglebin District in Bago Region – an area administered by Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 3 – is being delayed due to ongoing artillery shelling from military council forces, according to local sources.
Among them are school-age children of more than 10,000 residents from 30 villages in Kyaukkyi Township who were forced to flee their homes by artillery fire during fighting between military council troops and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) last June. They are still on the run and their schooling is being delayed by the ongoing military situation, said a Kyaukkyi resident.
“My little sister has been on the run since Covid-19 broke out and has not been able to go to school for three years. Since then, most of the displaced children haven’t been able to go to school. If they want to go to school, they have to go to the government school in Natthankwin. But these schools often open and close, so their education is delayed. They have difficulty learning because we have to flee in the midst of fighting. Some of them don’t study at all because they are on the run,” she told the Karen Information Center (KIC).
Before the military takeover, there were schools in Kyaukkyi Township that taught according to the Kawthoolei and government curricula. However, after the outbreak of fighting, the number of schools teaching according to the Kawthoolei curriculum decreased, she continued.
Another local said that while there are group classes under the Kawthoolei curriculum for local children taught by CDM teachers and local teachers in areas far from the armed fighting, they too have to flee as the fighting draws closer.
“Children mainly at the primary and secondary levels from two or three villages are grouped together and taught by teachers. As for teaching materials, they have to depend on donations. The teachers are not paid. When school is over, the parents of the students gather and present gifts to the teachers as a sign of respect and gratitude. They choose to teach in places far away from fighting, but when it gets closer, they have to close the school and flee. The situation in the villages is not so good either,” she said.
Between 27 Feb. and 4 March, more than 3,000 people from villages such as Kyeepinsu, Leinpinwea, Thitphayaungtan and Kyisu were forced to flee their homes when artillery shells fired by military council forces exploded in their villages, and they were in need of assistance, according to a 7 March KNU statement.
Sent by KIC.