Free education initiatives aim to help IDP students readying for matriculation exams 

By DMG 17 Jun 2021

DMG Newsroom
17 June 2021, Sittwe  

The All Arakanese Solidarity Committee (AASC) is providing free education at the Shwe Zedi monastic education school in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, focusing on students from camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) who will sit the matriculation exam next year. 

Civil society organisations are providing school uniforms and teaching aid accessories to IDP students but needs remain, said U Aung Kyaw Thein, manager of the AASC’s support committee for education. 

“Some CSOs have provided books and clothes. Their main difficulty is food. We collect K60,000 from donors for the monthly expenditure of food for a student,” he told DMG. 

The IDP students who stand to benefit from the efforts of the AASC are from Rathedaung, Mrauk-U, Minbya and Myebon townships. 

Ma Than Aye Nwe, an IDP student from Rathedaung Township who intends to sit the matriculation exam, said: “I am OK to attend the monastic education school at the moment because of donors. The school provides everything we need. If we are sick, we are sent to a clinic or hospital.” 

A total of 38 students are studying at the Shwe Zedi monastic education school, and the Nant Thar Daung Parahita school in Maungdaw Township is providing free education for more than 400 students in poverty. 

Basic education schools across Myanmar have been reopened since June 1, with 97% of students attending schools in Arakan State, the Arakan State education office has said. However, 30% of students at IDP camps cannot attend school, according to a survey by the Rakhine Ethnics Congress.