Parents have been sending their children under the age of ten to philanthropic schools due to farming failures and economic problems in Hsi Hseng of Taunggyi District, southern Shan State.
“[The children] are mostly sent to Yangon and Meiktila. It’s increasing year by year. I heard that over 20 [children] have been sent this year. Maize and paddies are mostly grown here. The local residents are facing difficulties due to low production of maize this year. So, the local villagers are sending their children to philanthropic schools and monasteries in order to keep going for schooling,” Sai Han, a local resident of Hsi Hseng, told the Shan Herald.
A woman was inspected by the police on March 11 after she was found with 21 boys between the age of six and ten on Aung Tha Pyay express bus, which runs from Hsi Hseng to Yangon.
She told the police that the boys are from Sein Phee Nar Village in Hsi Hseng Township and she was taking them to Mont Lone Taung Philanthropic School in Pakokku, according to the commander of the Taunggyi Myoma Police Station.
“We inspected her because we were suspicious. She was really taking the children to the philanthropic school and the Sayadaw himself called us. So, we released her,” he said.
The 21 children are Pa-O children from Hsi Hseng and they are being sent to the philanthropic school due to living and education difficulties.
“It’s not only in Hsi Hseng. Many children from this Pa-O area have been sent to monastic schools in the ‘Burma Proper’ due to education difficulties here. Some villages have schools but they don’t have any teachers. Some villages have teachers but they don’t have any schools. So, the children are sent to monastic schools in not only Yangon and Mandalay, but also in other towns via contacts with the monks. It’s difficult to find out in details on the number of children that are being sent every year. No list has been collected so we can’t estimate the percentage. We can only find out after conducting a research,” said Khun Yarzar from The People Voice Journal.
The Pa-Os make up over 70 percent of population in Hsi Hseng and the Shan make up 17 percent of the population. The children have been sent to Taunggyi School in Yangon since a decade ago to continue their education.
