Schools in some villages within the Shweyaungpya Village Tract in Thaton Township, under the control of the Karen National Union (KNU)'s 1st Brigade, are too fearful to open for classes due to arbitrary artillery shelling by the junta.

Since 2021, clashes have occurred occasionally in Thaton Township between the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU, and the junta. The junta has been indiscriminately firing artillery into rural areas, forcing locals to flee and preventing many schools from opening.

In some villages within the Shweyaungpya Village Tract, children fear attending school because of the junta's artillery. According to a schoolteacher, some teachers are gathering the children in houses and monasteries within the villages to continue their education.

“Even without clashes, the junta has been launching arbitrary artillery shelling, typically between 10:00 PM and 11:00 PM almost daily. Recently, they have also been carrying out daytime artillery attacks. This makes it extremely difficult for the children to study calmly. We can no longer teach them at schools; instead, we have to hold improvised classes in homes,” she said.

She explained that each class is divided into groups, which gather in several houses to continue their lessons.

Since October, three schools in the Shweyaungpya Village Tract have reopened, but teachers and students still carry on their education amidst constant fear.

In the nearly four years since the coup, residents of some villages in Thaton Township have been displaced by the war, facing a livelihood crisis and unable to send their children to school. Some families have migrated to more faraway areas in search of safety.

According to statements from KNU Thaton District, Shweyaungpya Village Tract has sustained damage to homes and religious buildings from the junta's artillery shelling, and many residents, mostly women, have suffered casualties from shell shrapnel.