Myanmar schools re-open amid boycott

YANGON, Myanmar

Students in Myanmar returned to primary schools after a year's absence due to COVID-19, despite an ongoing boycott by public schoolteachers opposing the Feb. 1 military coup.

Tens of thousands of teachers joined a civil disobedience movement, refusing to work under the military junta that seized power from the civilian government.

Pro-democracy protests have taken place in cities and towns across the country since the coup d'état.

The military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, detained her and other leaders of the National League for Democracy, then cracked down with lethal force on anti-coup protesters.

Suu Kyi's party won a second term last November, but the military said rigging in the polls had forced it to seize power.

Schools in Myanmar were closed in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. New academic years usually starts from June 1.

A teacher in Yangon’s Latha Township said there was a low turnout of students. “In Latha Township, more than 5,000 students were attending four primary schools in 2019-2020 academic year. But only a few hundred students returned to schools today,” she told Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity.

“As far as I know, only about 400 students in Latha Township registered for this academic year."

According to the Myanmar Teachers Federation, more than 125,000 of 430,000 schoolteachers have been suspended by the military authorities for joining the civil disobedience movement.

The disruption at schools echoes that in the health and other sectors since the coup and the arrest of elected leaders. More than 800 people have been killed by security forces, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.