Need for life jackets remains for ferry-going students in Arakan State

By Admin 24 Jun 2023

DMG Newsroom
24 June 2023, Sittwe

Many students in Arakan State who must travel by boat in order to attend school are still in need of life jackets, locals say.

Life jackets are needed for the safety of the students, especially during the rainy season when waters tend to be rougher on the rivers that serve as a means of transport for many Arakan State residents.

At least 30 students from the IDP camps of Taungmin Kalar and Wah Taung in Kyauktaw Township, for example, have to go to a high school in Kansauk Village by crossing the Yoe Creek in boats.

“Life jackets are needed for students during the rainy season,” said U Aung Hla Shwe, manager of the Wah Taung displacement camp.

“The students in our village don’t go to school for many days during the rainy season. When there is a flood, students do not go to school because they are afraid that their boats will sink. They need life jackets,” he added.

U Aung Hla Shwe said the sinking of a student ferryboat in Kansauk Village at the end of June 2022 caused no casualties but was a shock to the students.

At least 30 students from Santharpyin Village in Kyauktaw Township have to go to high school in Welgyidaunt Village by crossing the Pi Creek.

“Students have to cross the Pi Creek on ferry boats to get to school every day, which can be dangerous. They face more hardships than students in my village,” said Daw Moe Moe Aye, a female teacher from the Pi Chaung Institute free school. 

Children from Gantgar Village in Ponnagyun Township have to attend the basic education high school in Poeshweepyin Village by crossing the Tawphyar Creek in boats because there is no middle or high school in their village. They too need life jackets.

“I feel sorry when students in the village go to school. I am worried about their safety because the students have to cross the Tawphyar Creek in boats to go to school,” said U Maung Win Thein, the administrator of Gantgar Village.

On June 1, 2016, seven schoolchildren from Yahat Taung and Gangar villages died when their ferry boat capsized on the way to school.

Parents of current students are demanding that the relevant education department provide free life jackets to the students so that they can study safely.

Arakan State Education Officer U Be Htwee Sein said the relevant principals have been assigned the responsibility to provide life jackets to students in need.

“The Arakan State Education Department has already provided life jackets to schools for students who come to school in boats,” U Ba Htwee Sein told DMG. “The respective headmasters will provide life jackets to the students in need. We have no exact data regarding how many life jackets we have provided to schools.”