Over 1 lakh students still missing school in Rakhine

Over 105,000 students have failed to resume their educations after 303 schools were re-opened gradually since mid-October in northern Rakhine, according to Rakhine State Education Office data for December 2017, reports The Myanmar Times.

Currently, 105 schools in Maungdaw, 188 schools in Buthidaung and 10 schools in Rathedaung townships have already re-opened, with nearly 53,000 students attending classes.

“Schools are opening because security is stable. Four or five schools from Buthidaung have to open this week,” an official told The Myanmar Times on condition of anonymity on Monday.

One hundred and eighty-four schools in Maungdaw, 222 schools in Buthidaung and 20 schools in Rathedaung Township, all located in northern Rakhine, shut down in August following the terrorist attack and violent military reprisals.

The original attendance of nearly 85,000 students fell to nearly 13,000 in Maungdaw; from nearly 66,000 students to 35,000 in Buthidaung; and from about 8000 to nearly 5000 in Rathedaung, according to the education office.

“We didn’t re-open some schools as the students are gone. Schools from Bengali villages didn’t re-open yet as most fled to Bangladesh,” the official added.

Over 650,000 people - mostly Muslim residents of Rakhine - fled to Bangladesh to escape the conflict in northern Rakhine after August 25 last year.

“Children who returned to their villages are going to schools. A few students are not coming back and moved to other cities. Some schools remain closed for now as children are joining the nearest monastic education schools,” said U Khine Kaung San, director for Wan Lak Foundation of Arakan.

On January 10, Daw Naw Mya Say, chair of Amyotha Hluttaw Education Promotion Committee, met with education officers and teachers from Maungdaw Township at BEHS 1 Maungdaw to discuss the state of education in the region.

The Myanmar Times was not able to reach Daw Naw Mya Say for comment.

According to the Ministry of Social Welfare Relief and Resettlement, the government has prepared new villages to accommodate the refugees, including the Taung Pyo Letwe and Nga Khu Ya villages in Maungdaw Township, currently under renovation.

After being accepted in these two locations, which were once used for the 1992-1993 refugee crisis, they will be re-located in Hla Pho Khaung in a temporary camp which can hold up to 30,000 people.

The repatriation of the 650,000 refugees is expected to begin on January 23, according to a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Myanmar and Bangladesh on November 23.