Sittwe monastic schools scraping by in pandemic’s shadow

By DMG 17 Mar 2021

DMG Newsroom
17 March 2021, Sittwe

Long known as refuges and places of opportunity for underprivileged children from the countryside, Sittwe’s numerous monastic schools have been hard put to continue to feed and educate young people amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Shwe Zedi monastic school in the Arakan State capital is struggling to find the budget to feed dozens of hungry students, said the school’s abbot Ashin Ariya Wuntha.

“We are providing food and education to poor children from rural areas. In 2017, we accepted more than 80 children from Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships. I offer donations from my devotees,” the abbot said.

“When we accepted IDP students, donors from Sittwe came and provided food. We have enough teachers. The main difficulty is daily expenses for food for the children,” he added.

Ashin Ariya Wuntha said students required textbooks, exercise books and other school supplies while the monastic school itself needed furniture and other classroom items.

The school has more than 600 students from primary to high school levels and over 30 teachers. The monastery has to provide food for 100 students daily, costing about K9 million ($6,400) per month, the abbot said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some students returned to their homes, but many others have remained at the monastery.

Teachers of the Wailuwun monastic school said they continue to teach the children who did not return home during the pandemic.

Wailuwun monastic school is also facing daily food expenses, according to teacher Ko Tun Nyein Maung.

“When the school is open, parents donate rice. The abbot of the monastery is providing food now for the children who are attending the school after the COVID-19 outbreak. They all have their own difficulties. Some students do not have all required textbooks,” said Ko Tun Nyein Maung.

Wailuwin monastic school has more than 800 students from primary to high school ages.

Many of the students who are attending monastic schools in Sittwe are poor children from various villages affected by armed conflict.

The Shwe Zedi monastery’s abbot said he wanted donors and organisations to provide aid for the Arakan State capital’s monastic schools in order to promote children’s education.