ASIA/MYANMAR – Education denied because of war: the contribution of Catholic nuns to the schooling of children
Yangon (Agenzia Fides) – Almost four years after the coup d'état and the outbreak of the civil war, in addition to the economic suffering and population displacements, there is one area that has suffered a hard blow and is causing concern. serious concerns for the future of the country: the impossibility for children and young people to continue school and education, at all levels. University students have notably been at the forefront of opposition to the junta, first as part of the civil disobedience movement, then by enlisting in the ranks of the Popular Defense Forces opposed to the regime. Many of them therefore voluntarily abandoned their studies.
According to UN data, public schools in Myanmar were closed for 532 days between February 2020 and February 2022. Although military authorities ordered public schools to reopen, 30% of teaching staff joined the disobedience movement civilian and was dismissed by the military authorities. And many families have pulled their children and youth out of school because they do not agree with the regime's impositions. For all these young people, the risk is to permanently lose more than three and a half years of education. School dropout rates have increased dramatically in the country and a real collapse has been recorded among secondary school students.
Private colleges and universities, at least those officially recognized in Myanmar, have tried to absorb the shortage or closure of public schools. But only the most economically well-off families were able to afford this rather expensive education. These institutions are therefore mainly concentrated in urban areas, in the center of the country, the area controlled by the military junta. On the other hand, they are completely absent from rural areas or peripheral regions.
Another “remedial measure” that has been attempted for access to education has been to launch online training courses, but even this has only reached a very small percentage of children and families who live in cities and have adequate technological means.
With the extension of the conflict and the creation of the alliance which saw the armies of ethnic minorities join the popular forces, the national territory was split: the central part and the main cities like Yangon and Mandalay are under the control of the military government; peripheral regions and states are controlled by rebels. While in cities where the junta rules, schools and educational institutes continue to operate, in remote areas, many independent institutions have sprung up spontaneously to compensate for the lack of education. They organize schooling for children, but also nursing, technology and language courses for thousands of adolescents. Social and religious organizations founded small, informal, independent schools, mainly for the benefit of displaced people; however, these educational experiences are not officially recognized by the State and cannot issue diplomas.
Other young people instead try to escape to study in Thailand, in order to be able to continue their studies and also to escape the forced conscription measure decreed by the junta, which the regular army is currently applying. But Thailand continues to apply very restrictive and selective criteria for immigration and the issuance of study visas.
War, school closures and school dropouts are destroying the future of young people, especially those who, in the majority, did not accept the new regime after the coup d'état. Limited opportunities or complete absence of learning have therefore generated a massive crisis in Myanmar's education sector, leading to the loss of the nation's 'human capital'.
The female religious congregations who, in Myanmar, have made available all their houses, their convents and their human resources to educate the children, not only of Catholic families, but also of needy families of all religious beliefs, are very present in this frame.
The Sisters of the Good Shepherd, for example, work with children and young people, carrying out daily educational work, in particular to make them feel a certain “normality” in life. The nuns have communities in the cities of Yangon and Mandalay and have also established classes in remote areas such as Magyikwin, Loikaw (in war-torn Kayah State) or Tachileik (in Eastern Shan State).
Likewise, the missionary sisters of St Columba, who have always been very active in the field of education – they founded and supervised numerous schools and educational programs – continue to give lessons to children, especially those from displaced families.
The commitment of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC), religious with a Salesian charism, is rooted in the State of Chin (in western Myanmar) where they take care of the education of girls from the most poor since 2021.
The Hearts of Saint Francis Xavier are dedicated to very young children, mainly from Buddhist families in Karen State, in the southeast of the country. Schools are unsafe and families need safe study centers. This is why the sisters decided to open the doors of their schools.
Among informal initiatives, there are also classes for children trained in Buddhist monasteries. For the poorest children in the Yangon region, there is an initiative called “Yay Chan Sin”, which provides education to 400 children and young people, thanks to its founder, the 27-year-old Buddhist Phyo Ko Ko Maung, who sought to give street children educational opportunities.(PA) (Agenzia Fides 12/23/2024)
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