According to sources close to the education department, students are currently enrolling for the next academic year, at schools along the Gyaing River, including those in Kawt Bein Village, Kawkareik Township, and Karen State.
Due to regional instability last year, many middle and high school students from the area were forced to transfer to schools in urban areas. Some students who could not afford these costs instead migrated abroad with their families to seek employment.
A source close to the military junta’s education department stated that, in the current academic year, students who had previously transferred to schools in Mawlamyine are now re-enrolling at schools within their villages. The source added that parents and guardians are also sending back students who had previously dropped out of school.
“It’s still too early to know the exact number, as school enrollment has just started. But students who had transferred to schools in Mawlamyine are now returning and enrolling again in their village schools. Since most schools in the city are private and the expenses are high, including the cost of dormitories, some parents, especially those displaced by last year’s conflict, have taken their children to Thailand,” according to the source.
During the previous academic year, although government schools in Kawt Bein Village were able to open as usual due to the military’s presence in the area, schools in nearby Minywar Village—located about one mile away—were forced to remain closed for nearly half the year, as resistance forces did not allow them to operate.
A resident of Minywar Village said that, due to requests made by teachers from the education department, schools in the village have been allowed to reopen this academic year, and all students are now being re-enrolled.
“We don’t want the children to be kept from education or face barriers. If they don’t attend school, we worry they might go astray. Some children can’t afford to attend school in the city. That’s why this year, all the children in Minywar Village are enrolled and allowed to go to school,” he said.
Currently, about 80 per cent of the residents who fled to Mawlamyine City and Thailand due to fighting in the Kawt Bein area have returned to their communities.
The military junta’s Ministry of Education announced that basic education schools (upper, middle, and primary levels) for the 2025-2026 academic year will open on June 2. The school enrollment week has been designated from May 22 to June 1, during which enrollment processes are being conducted nationwide for all grades, from kindergarten (KG) through Grade 12.
