Ann Twsp residents demand repair of village school

By DMG 08 Jun 2022

DMG Newsroom
8 June 2022, Ann 

A new school building in Nyaung Chaung Thit village in Arakan State’s Ann Township has been closed and children are studying at an old school building under cover of umbrellas, according to the school building construction committee. 

The old school facility was built by villagers on a self-reliant basis and the new school structure was built by the Ministry of Education. 

A construction company in Ann Township built the new school building and villagers and the company have had disputes over its quality, with villagers calling the work a jury-rigged structure whose roofing and ceiling were made with substandard materials. The company locked the new school building, said Ko Maung Than Win, secretary of the school building construction committee. 

“The villagers said the new school building was substandard. So the construction company locked the new school building. The children are studying at the old school building built by villagers on a self-reliant basis,” he said. 

Daw Ma Than Yee, the mother of a student, said the children were studying in the old school building and it was very difficult when it rained heavily. 

“Children have to use umbrellas to study their lessons on rainy days because rainwater leaks from the roofing of the classroom. Residents can’t afford to donate money to buy new roofs,” she added. 

“Please send photos of children studying their lessons with the use of umbrellas. I would take action against the construction company. School officials should submit a letter seeking a budget to repair the old school building,” the deputy director of the Arakan State Education Office, Dr. Tun Tun Thein, told DMG. 

The one-storey school measures 120x30 feet, and was built at a cost of K125 million from state funds. Construction started in January 2021, and the school building was handed over last month. 

Ko Maung Than Win said the school building construction committee presented the issue to the township education director’s office, but the villagers refused and the township education office replied that it would be closed. 

DMG contacted the district education director’s office about the matter, and the district education officer said the matter could not be resolved due to the visit of the education minister. 

Villagers want the new school building to be renovated and the roof to be repaired as soon as possible. 

U Maung Maung Gyi, the Ann Township administrator, was not available for comment. 

The school needs teachers as there are only 14 teachers and more than 300 students at the school.