How marginalised Myanmar children are getting back to school during the pandemic
As schools return in the UK, children in rural Myanmar are doing the same with the help of kits for pupils and teachers
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As schools reopen across the UK and other western countries, the Voluntary Service Overseas is helping rural and marginalised children back into education in Myanmar through targeted interventions in a country which has historically been shut off from the outside world for many years.
On 15 May, Myanmar went into lockdown, with citizens advised to stay home, wear face masks when going out, and restrictions on movement put in place. Schools are now beginning to return, with 55 out of 133 schools in Mon State reopened.
VSO (working in partnership with the Mon National Education Committee) has distributed back-to-school kits – containing milk, soap and face visors – for 10,000 children, as well as nutrition support – including rice, oil and beans – for 744 teachers.
See below how teachers and students are feeling about going back, and how these interventions are making a difference in classrooms.
Students back at Mon National Post Primary School.
Grade 4 student Min Htet Pone Nyar, 9: “I feel happy to be back in school. While the school was closed, I really missed my teachers, brothers and friends. I get to play with my friends at school but at home, I have to go to the plantation and help my family, occasionally I even have to sell it. When the school was closed, I did not study at home. I received the support from school to get back to school. Such as face shield, mask, milk, soap and stationery. I use it at home too. When my hands and body are dirty, I now wash with soap. This year, our school now has a rule of wearing a face shield and mask which we have never had before. I like to wear it at school. I am now becoming an adult and I can study better than last year. Earlier, I encountered lots of hardships with studies.”
Students wash their hands.
Primary school teacher Mi Ar Jar Nor: “We had a consultation with the school community before the school reopened. There we discussed Covid-19, how to remain safe, how to take care of children, how to send children back to school and what rules they would need to follow when they came back to school. What you are seeing now is supported by VSO. Masks and face shields were the fundamental requirements for the reopening of this school. The teachers also received rice and oil. The children are very happy. Since only MNEC schools have reopened, other older children in the village also want to come to attend the school.”
Students drink milk in their classroom.
Grade 7 student Mi Balay Mon, 14: “I am very happy. I remembered playing with my friends at school when the schools were closed. I could not study with my friends when it was closed. During the school shutdown, I had to go down to the yard with my mother. When I had time, I studied the Mon language at home because I could not study the school classes and there was no one to instruct me. I have received a lot of support to go back to school. I got milk, soap, face shield, mask and some stationery too. It is different attending school now compared to before. I have to sit six feet away from my friends. Our school also does two shifts in a day, and I only have to join in the morning.”
Students play in a classroom.
A student washes her hands at a washing station outside her school.
Grade 6 student Min Phyo Ko Ko, 11: “I recently returned to school. I was very happy to be back in school. Meeting with friends and teachers again is the best. I miss the teachers and playing with my friends at school. I did not get any cash to buy food or snacks while the school was closed and had to help my parents in the field. I get no time to study at home. I got a face shield, mask, hand washing station, soap and milk to help me come back to school. In the past we could stay close together, but now we cannot play together. Wearing a mask all the time is very warm.”
You can find out more about VSO’s Towards Results in Education and English project here
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