SHAN STATE – A resident of Hsihseng Township who is helping the IDPs said that it has been more than 4 years since the children fleeing the war in Hsihseng have had no opportunity to get an education.
The children of refugees from Karenni State taking shelter in Hsihseng due to the fighting between the junta troops and Karenni revolutionary forces, have had no opportunity for education, as the conflicts broke right as the schools were about to reopen after the closure caused by COVID-19.
Most of those who fled to Hsihseng Township are from Demoso Township in Karenni State, according to a person who is helping the refugees. There are said to be more than 8,000 people and about 2,000 children under the age of 18.
“Of course there are now cases where the students had grown out of the average age for their classes. Some children are 11 years old now, but still only in preschool,” he said about the education status of children displaced by the war.
During the Covid-19 period, schools were closed for a year, and as they have been displaced for two years of the military coup, the education of the children was suspended for about 3 years.
He explained that even though there have been attempts to teach the children who fled the war in available times, it is difficult to teach them because of the frequent battles and the need to move places.
“We set up a temporary school in the IDP camp and volunteer teachers came to teach. IDPs also try to teach each other, but it is only successful for students in preschool. It becomes difficult to teach the students in higher classes,” continued thr person helping IDPs in Hsihseng.
Kayah State, known as Karenni State, has the third highest number of people displaced by the war after the military coup after Sagaing and Magway Divisions, according to the statistics compiled by ISP Myanmar.
There are parents who do not want to enroll their children in junta council schools. There are also some parents who don’t mind transferring their children to jubta-run schools, but they are facing difficulties because they don’t have school transcripts.
Alongside the demonstrations against the military coup, students who did not want to study under the military dictatorship and the staff taking part in Civil Disobedience Movement-CDM had caused most of the schools to close.
Currently, even though the junta council has reopened the schools, due to the terrorist killings carried out by the military across the country, there still remain students who do not want to attend the schools opened by the junta council.
The Ministry of Education of the National Unity Government (NUG) also opened online schools to help and educate IDP children and CDM students but security breaches and internet connection difficulties had made it less effective, said a mother of a CDM student.
A person helping the IDPs said that the the local people displaced by the fighting between the junta council and the People’s Defence Forces have to prioritize their security and thus, the chance for education for the children is quite difficult.