ASIA/MYANMAR - Education denied due to war: the contribution of Catholic nuns to ensure education to children

Yangon (Agenzia Fides) - Almost four years after the coup and the outbreak of the civil war, in addition to economic hardship and displacement, another problem is causing serious concerns for the future of the country: many children and young people are unable to continue their education at all levels.
Among other things, students were at the forefront of the resistance against the junta, first in the "civil disobedience movement" and later in the ranks of the People's Defense Forces that oppose the regime. Many of them have therefore voluntarily abandoned their studies.
According to the UN, public schools in Myanmar were closed for a total of 532 days between February 2020 and February 2022. Although the military authorities ordered the reopening of public schools, 30% of the teaching staff joined the "civil disobedience movement" and were fired by the military authorities. And many families have taken children and young people out of school because they do not agree with the regime's requirements. All of them are at risk of having lost more than three and a half years of education permanently. School dropouts have increased dramatically in the country, and there has been a real collapse in the number of high school students.
Private colleges and universities, at least those officially recognized in Myanmar, have tried to compensate for the shortage or closure of state schools. But only the wealthiest families have been able to afford this expensive education. Moreover, these institutions are mainly located in urban areas, in the center of the country, the area controlled by the military junta. In rural areas or in the peripheral regions, they are completely absent.
Another "remedial measure" to try to guarantee access to education was the introduction of online courses, but this too has only benefited a very small percentage of children and families living in cities and having the necessary technological means.
As the conflict spread and the alliance was formed, with the ethnic minority armies joining the popular forces, the country's territory was divided: the central part and the main cities, such as Yangon and Mandalay, are under the control of the military government; the outlying regions and states are controlled by the rebels. While schools and educational establishments continue to exist in the cities where the junta rules, numerous independent establishments have spontaneously sprung up in the outlying areas to make up for the lack of education. They organize school classes for children and also nursing, technical or language courses for thousands of young people. Social and religious organizations in particular have set up small independent informal schools that mainly benefit the displaced; however, these schools are not officially recognized by the state and therefore cannot issue qualifications.
Other young people are trying to flee to Thailand to study and continue their education and to avoid the forced conscription decreed by the junta and carried out by the regular army. However, Thailand continues to apply very restrictive and selective criteria for immigration and the issuing of study visas.
War, school closures and school dropouts are destroying the future of young people, especially those who did not accept the new regime after the coup. Limited opportunities or the total lack of education have thus led to a massive crisis in Myanmar's education sector, resulting in the loss of "human capital" in the country.
Very present in this context are congregations of sisters who have made all their houses, monasteries and human resources available in Myanmar to educate children, not only from Catholic families.
The Sisters of the Good Shepherd, for example, work with children and young people and carry out educational work every day, also to give them a sense of a certain "normality" in life. The nuns have communities in the cities of Yangon and Mandalay and also offer classes in remote areas such as Magyikwin, Loikaw (in the war-torn state of Kayah) or Tachileik (in Shan state). The Missionary Sisters of St. Columban, who have always been very active in the field of education and have founded and run numerous schools and educational programs, also continue to teach children, especially from displaced families. The Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC), with the charism of Saint Don Bosco, work in Chin State (in western Myanmar), where they have been working to educate girls from the poorest families since 2021. The Sisters of St. Francis Xavier, on the other hand, are dedicated to very young children, who mostly come from Buddhist families in the state of Karen in the southeast of the country.
The informal initiatives also include classes of children who are educated in Buddhist monasteries. For the poorest children in the Yangon region, there is an initiative called "Yay Chan Sin", which offers education to 400 children and young people. The initiative was launched by 27-year-old Buddhist Phyo Ko Ko Maung, who tries to give street children educational opportunities. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 23/12/2024)

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