The military regime has reportedly opened 300 schools in 8 of the 9 townships in Chin State, announcing that 35,434 students have returned to classes on 1 June—a record since the military coup when many teachers walked off the job to join the country’s Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).
A mother from Hakha said, “I don’t want to send my children to school under the military junta, but there is no school run by the National Unity Government in this area. I cannot afford to send my children to a private school because the fee is 100,000 kyat ($50) per month.”
The woman said many parents, including her family, have sent their children back to class. “Our children haven’t been able to go to school for three years,” she said, explaining one is eight but hasn’t even attended kindergarten. The child spends the day playing with the phone.
According to the Military Council, 17,322 students have started classes in Paletwa schools, the highest number in any township.
In comparison, only 2,192 students have enrolled in Hakha, 2,706 in Falam, 4,840 in Tedim, 5,966 in Tongzan, 1,506 in Mindat, 142 in Kanpetlet and 760 in Matupi.
In Thangtlang Township, a stronghold of the resistance groups fighting to overthrow the military regime, there are no government schools. A large part of the town of the same name was destroyed by the Burma army since the military coup.
An anonymous source says there are not enough teachers left in the state willing to work under the military regime.
In total, there are 1,516 schools in Chin State, but only 328 were opened this year and 4,000 of the approximately 10,000 teachers are CDMers.
Another man, who also requested anonymity, said, “Probably less than 1 in 10 students here can go to private school. Parents just can not afford to send their children to a private school, so they have to send their children to a government school.”