Despite not having applied for transfer, 600 high school teachers in Rakhine State are facing orders to relocate to mainland regions, without their consent.
An education official informed Narinjara that the list of teachers slated for transfer had been posted on a notice board at the Rakhine State education director's office in Sittwe.
"The news of the transfer order is correct. The list published by the education director's office includes the names of approximately 600 high school teachers. There is widespread dismay as the orders came suddenly without any application for transfer. This initial list marks the first batch of transfers, with potential follow-up lists yet to be announced”, he said.
Although reports suggest that 1200 high school and middle school teachers are being transferred from Rakhine State, the current list includes only 600 teachers slated to be relocated to Bago, Magway Region and Ayeyarwady regions, he added.
“The government (Junta) has failed to pay salaries for a long time. Is it because they do not want to pay our salaries? I do not know why. We the education staff, are in a very difficult situation at the moment. The transfer list was released without any of us knowing, and we still cannot believe it. Anyway I have already decided not to go nowhere. And there has been no official notice of staff transfer yet”, a teacher who is slated to be transferred to Bogale town in the Ayeyarwady Region said.
She also expressed frustration over being transferred against her will during the political crisis, citing coercion among the staff and their forced relocation, as a Junta’s method to avoid paying them. She further mentioned that transfer lists would be issued sequentially for high school, middle school, and primary school teachers.
Currently, nine townships in Rakhine State and the Paletwa area in Chin State are under the control of the Arakha Army (AA), resulting in the closure of many schools and barring thousands of teachers from teaching or receiving salaries.
Narinjara contacted the state education office by phone regarding this issue, but there was no response.
Due to the ongoing conflict in Rakhine State, government employees, including teachers in Sittwe town, have abandoned their jobs due to security concerns, and many are absent without official leave.
According to sources close to government departments under the Junta in Sittwe, senior officials, including education and administrative staff who had fled due to fear of fighting, were instructed to return by May 25, 2024. The Junta threatened that those who did not return would be considered part of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). Therefore, some staff members returned to Sittwe in May.
In AA-controlled towns of Paletwa, Pauktaw, Minbya, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Rathedaung, Buthidaung, Mrauk-U, Myebon, and Ramree, the Junta's governance mechanisms have ceased operations, and all schools are closed. Similarly, in Sittwe, Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Kyaukphyu, and Taungup towns many schools have closed due to ongoing clashes.
