Dabatyang village in Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, has yet to receive funds to repair its school, even though the school year has already begun, parents who returned home from displacement and officials said.
A Dabatyang village elder said residents had to repair the school building themselves in time for the start of the 2023-2024 academic year, which began 1 June.
“They told us that they would build us a makeshift school. We had expected that. But we didn’t get the budget for the so-called makeshift building until the school opening approached,” he complained.
According to reports, villagers had informed both the state government and the education education officer of the need to repair their school building. The authorities had promised 10 million MMK for the repair, which the villagers have not received to date, the villagers said.
They further said the repair of the school building is less than 50 percent complete despite the villagers’ contributions and loans.
“In fact, it is a bit late to repair the school building now. We started the repairs on 28 May and now we can say it is 50 percent complete. We thought it was safe from rain, but we later found five or six holes in the roofing when it rained. So we still have to put roofing on. We don’t have enough money to buy corrugated iron sheets. The building has five rooms. Almost every room still needs wooden flooring,” said a man from Dabatyang village.
Parents said the children also need stationery, teaching materials, desks, chairs and blackboards, and that the school now has four teachers, including the principal.
Of the total 282 school children in Dabatyang village, which includes nearly 1,500 households, only 96 students had enrolled for the current school year as of 31 May, according to parents.
Sent by NMG.
