The Junta has directed students from conflict-ridden townships in Rakhine State to display Ministry of Education flags on their vehicles as they travel to Sittwe for exams.

"The students must come to Sittwe to take the exams, even amidst the ongoing conflicts. The township police chief has instructed that the Ministry of Education flag should be hoisted on all vehicles or vessels carrying the students”, a Sittwe resident said.

Students scheduled to sit for the matriculation under a new system on March 11th, are anxious about the recent intense fighting in some townships in Rakhine State.

Exams will not take place in a total of 10 townships in Rakhine State, encompassing those recently seized by the Arakan Army (AA). Examinations cannot be conducted in Rathedaung, Buthidaung, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Pauktaw, Myebon, and Ramree townships in Rakhine State, as well as Paletwa township in Chin State.

Exams will proceed in Thandwe, Gwa, Toungup, Ann, Maungdaw, Sittwe, and Kyaukphyu townships in Rakhine State, that are not yet engulfed in conflict or in the hands of theAA.In any event not all registered students are likely to participate, locals suggested.

Narinjara was informed by a source within the education community that approximately 60 percent of students in Sittwe and around 10 percent of students in townships in northern Rakhine State are expected to participate in the matriculation exams.

This year, while more than 120 examination centers typically facilitate matriculation exams in Rakhine State, the number has decreased to just 69 this year due to current circumstances.

The ongoing clashes have resulted in the closure of about a thousand schools in Sittwe, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Rathedaung, Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Ma-Ei, and Ramree townships, out of over 3,000 basic education schools throughout Rakhine State

Scheduled from March 11th to 19th, the upcoming matriculation exam marks the first under the new system, with plans to exclusively conduct exams in urban areas.