Village school in Ponnagyun Twsp needs urgent repairs: parents

By DMG 28 May 2022

DMG Newsroom
28 May 2022,Ponnagyun 

The parents of local students are worried that a post-primary school in Myo Ywar village, Ponnagyun Township, is in danger of collapsing, and at best will not adequately weather the onsetting monsoon season. 

The school in Arakan State was built by the villagers in 1982, on a self-reliant basis. Villagers say that the government has never once carried out renovations on the 40-year-old school. 

“The students were not able to study due to the destruction of the bamboo floor at the school, damage to the corrugated iron roof and the tarpaulin,” U Sein Aung, the principal of the school, told DMG. 

“When the school reopens, the damaged school will have to be repaired with the help of the villagers,” he said. 

He continued that most local villagers are poor and it is difficult to repair the school with bamboo, which is cheaper than most building materials, with the principal adding that there are not enough classrooms at the school. 

With the opening of Myanmar’s public schools set for June 1, enrollment in primary schools across the country began on May 26. 

Students’ parents say the school in Myo Ywar village is in a state of disrepair and needs to be repaired as soon as possible so that their children can study in safety. 

“The school is not weather-resilient, and we are worried that children will be harmed when the storms hit. I want the concerned officials to repair the school as soon as possible,” said U San Hla Phaw, the parent of a student.

 At present, a tender has been invited for the construction of a new school building, but it is not yet known when it will be built, said U Sein Aung. 

There are 79 students and six teachers at the school. Myo Ywar village is located at the foot of Bay Ngar Rar Mountain and is home to ethnic Khami people.