Pupils suffer amid violence, boycott
No more than a quarter of Myanmar's more than 12 million pupils enrolled for the new school year amid a protest boycott against military rule and in the wake of a series of bombings, an official of a teachers' group said.
There were noticeably fewer students at many schools in the main city of Yangon as the new academic year began on Tuesday for the first time since both the February 1 coup and the relaxation of curbs imposed last year against the spread of Covid-19.
Security forces stood guard at some schools and brought pupils under armed escort from their homes.
An official of the Myanmar Teachers' Federation, who sought anonymity for fear of retribution, said that even fewer puplis had turned out than had been enrolled because parents were concerned about security, as well as joining the boycott.
Teachers were also afraid, he said, adding, "Some teachers go to school in normal clothing and change into their uniforms only inside the school."
Reuters was unable to reach either the junta or its education ministry for comment.
The junta-controlled Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper quoted Win Win Nwe, the headmistress of a school in Yangon's Kamayut township, as saying that about 30% of pupils had been enrolled there.
Teachers and students have been on the front line of anti-junta protests and the teachers' federation said more than 125,000 teachers, from a total of more than 430,000, had been suspended for joining a civil disobedience movement.
The phrase, "We're not sending our children to school," has been trending on social media since mid-May.
The junta complained that "politically extreme terrorist groups, who wish to destroy national interests" had been threatening pupils and teachers to disrupt education.
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