In the post-coup disruptions and CDM repudiation of the Junta-run education sector, more than 1500 students transferred from the state-run schools to the newly- established Mon National Education schools it has been revealed in a recent report.
The 'Observation of Civil Services in Mon State during the Crisis' report, conducted and published by the New Rehmonnya Federated Force (NRFF) to spotlight post-coup conditions in civil services across areas controlled by various ruling factions in Mon State, reveals significant shifts in the education sector.
Within the report, NRFF also acknowledged that the New Mon State Party's (NMSP) has been directing the implementation of Mon national education services.
According to the report, individuals who harbored resentment towards the Military Council following the coup, expressed a reluctance to have educational syllabus controlled by the Junta. As a result they increasingly turned to the Mon national education system established by NMSP, which had entered into a cease-fire agreement with the coup Regime.
In the aftermath of the coup at the village level, an average of 20 to 50 students have shifted to Mon national education schools, the report pointed out.
The report indicated that over 1500 students had transferred to Mon national education schools by the 2023-24 academic year, though it did not specify the particular grades in which they were enrolled.
The Mon National Education Department has successfully established primary, middle, and high schools at the basic education level, along with a college offering higher education.
As per the report, following the coup, the Mon National Education Department increased its outreach to the public and appealed for support to enhance the Mon national education sector.
The entire Mon National Education sector relies primarily on donations from Mon people, both domestically and internationally. In certain Mon villages under Military Council control, self-reliant schools have been established based on the education sector's needs, funded by the local community.
In the academic year 2022-23, Mon National College, the first higher education institution under the supervision of the Mon National Education Department, was inaugurated at Nyisar Camp in Yechaunghpyar, an area controlled by the NMSP.
For a long time, Mon national schools have grappled with human resource challenges; however the academic staff participating in the anti-coup Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) have now taken up teaching roles in these schools.
