Over 200 schools in Paletwa Twsp unable to reopen

By Hnin Nwe 22 Jul 2020

Hnin Nwe | DMG
22 July, Sittwe

More than 230 schools have yet to reopen in Chin State’s Paletwa Township, where clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army are an ongoing concern, according to the township education office.

The township has 391 schools in total but the department has moved forward with opening only about 150 schools because more than 230 schools cannot be opened due to transportation disruptions and an inability to get required materials such as textbooks to the school facilities, said Paletwa Township education officer Salai Aung Min.

“We cannot go to some places because of the condition of the transportation. We cannot distribute textbooks to some areas because of the regional instability. So, we decided not to open some schools,” he said.

The full complement of schools can be opened when transportation improves and classroom materials can be delivered to the respective schools, he said.

U Soe Htet, the Chin State minister for Municipal Affairs, said more than 30 schools in Paletwa Township cannot be opened in villages where the residents have fled their homes or where conflict has otherwise impacted.

“In villages where all people fled from homes and villages that were set on fire, there were no people and teachers. So, we have to close the schools in such villages,” he said.
Parents have raised alarms about their children’s education being affected by the schools remaining closed at a time when the new academic year has already been pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For students, if they cannot go to school for a year, they face losses for a year. … Children are worried that they cannot go to school this year,” said U Kyaw Hla, a resident of Meeletwa village in Paletwa Township.