After the military seized power in 2021, thousands of university students and teachers took to the streets to protest, with many education staff participating in the non-violent Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).
According to Dr. Zaw Wai Soe, Union Minister of the Ministries of Education and Health, at present, students and educators represent one of the largest groups involved in the revolution. As of April this year, 239 students have been shot and killed by the military junta, while 491 students have been arrested.
The Ministry of Education under the National Unity Government (NUG) has established three types of educational programs: home-based learning, online learning, and ground-based education (in-person classes) to provide interim education for students during this period.
The Ministry of Education is working to implement a federal education system starting from the grassroots level. Dr. Zaw Wai Soe stated this during a press conference held on August 14.
"After reaching agreements with ethnic groups, we are implementing bottom-up federal education along with bottom-up federalism based on the Federal Democratic Education Policy," he said.
The interim education system established by the NUG since 2021 includes universities such as the Myanmar Nway Oo University (MNOU), Wunzin University, as well as institutions for technology, medicine, teacher training, business, forestry, agriculture, culture, and arts. For the first year, over 5,500 students who completed basic education were admitted, and in the second year, the number increased to 15,000, as mentioned by NUG Deputy Minister of Education U Sai Khine Myo Tun during the August 14 press conference.
Moreover, universities and colleges have also been opened in regions controlled by ethnic resistance organizations and revolutionary forces, where degree programs are being offered. Meanwhile, the junta has reopened 250 universities and colleges across the country. However, according to the junta-controlled Ministry of Education's reports, university attendance nationwide has decreased by up to 90% this year.
Amidst ongoing revolutionary struggles and economic decline, the junta has pledged to open new universities nationwide, attempting to involve the country's youth—who make up one-third of the country's population—in the education system under its control.
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