Household financial hardship has intensified across the border since The Border Consortium (TBC), the primary non-governmental organization coordinating refugee assistance in the area, halted food aid.
The loss of direct support has compelled many young refugees to abandon their education in search of manual labor outside the camps.
“My eldest son dropped out in Grade 9 to work, and later my second son had to leave school in Grade 9 as well due to our financial crisis,” said a 41-year-old widowed mother of five living in Umpiem Refugee Camp.
At Umpiem Camp, which houses six primary and high schools, total student enrollment fell from 1,847 in the 2024–2025 academic year to 1,785 in 2025–2026—a net loss of 62 students.
The drop is particularly pronounced at Kaw Moo Rah No. 1 High School, where enrollment plummeted from 532 to 480 over the same period.
“Parents can no longer cover school expenses, while donor funding for camp schools continues to shrink,” said Naw Wi Tu Paw, principal of Kaw Moo Rah No. 1 High School.
“Older students in Grades 11 and 12 are leaving the camp to find jobs, while other parents who must work outside the camp have no choice but to take their children with them, pulling them out of school entirely.”
The crisis extends far beyond Umpiem. Across the seven border refugee camps administered by the Karen Refugee Committee Educational Entity (KRCEE), total enrollment across 45 schools dropped from 24,462 in 2024–2025 to 20,629 in 2025–2026—a decline of 3,833 students in a single year.
The sharp decline reflects broader regional and global educational crises. More than six million school-age children inside Myanmar have been deprived of formal education since the 2021 military coup, according to census data analyzed by the Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar (ISP-Myanmar).
Globally, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned on October 2 that 44 percent of refugee children remain out of school, warning that ongoing funding shortfalls will further erode access to basic education.
KIC