Regime pressures teachers to open schools in Taungup Twsp

By Admin 22 Jul 2024

DMG Newsroom
22 July 2024, Taungup

Myanmar’s military regime is putting pressure on teachers to open basic education schools in Taungup Township, Arakan State, and students’ parents are worried about the danger of junta airstrikes, according to residents and the local education community.

Due to frequent artillery strikes in Taungup Township, as well as intense and ongoing fighting in nearby Thandwe Township, parents of students said that forcing their children to go to school is a safety concern.

“At this time, it is quite irresponsible to send children to school,” said a parent of a student in Taungup. “What child would be interested in school given the junta airstrikes and shellings? If the weapons hit, the children will be affected. No one can guarantee the children’s safety.”

The regime has bolstered its defences in downtown Taungup and often fires mortar shells into residential areas, according to local residents.

The junta has prepared a defence at several downtown locations in Taungup, where the military’s No. 5 Military Operations Command is based.

The regime is forcing education workers assigned to Taungup Township to report for duty, and if they do not do so, they have been told that they will be suspended and will face punitive action under existing law.

“The regime pressured the teachers, so the schools were opened,” said a male teacher in Taungup Township. “The number of students is fewer than previous years. But as the fighting is getting closer, the schools are no longer safe. We are worried about what will happen if the schools are hit by artillery shells.”

Seventy-one education employees from Ann Township, Arakan State, have been suspended since last month by the military regime, which claims that they did not report for duty at the schools they were assigned to serve.

Students were to be enrolled in basic education schools on June 1, with teachers from townships such as Sittwe, Mrauk-U, Minbya and Kyauktaw instructed by the Arakan State education officer to arrive at their respective schools by May 25.

Schools are open in some urban parts of Arakan State still controlled by the regime, while schools in AA-controlled areas cannot operate, leading to concerns about the war-induced disruption to the affected children’s education.