Sittwe: Students of the Government Technical College in Sittwe are still mired in problems going to school with the new school bus fares fixed by the Science and Technology Minister U Thaung on July 7, said student sources.

The minister came to the college on July 7, two days after students demonstrated against an increase in school bus fares. U Thaung determined what the new bus fares would be.

"The minister determined it would be 200 Kyats each way on the school bus but it is still expensive. We are having difficulty paying 200 Kyats as bus fare each way. Students have to pay 400 Kyats each day after the minister's decision. This is expensive and impossible for us," a student said.

On July 5, over 300 students from the college staged a demonstration by marching peacefully to the state government building in Sittwe to voice their concern over the increase in school bus fares from 150 Kyats to 300 Kyats each way.

"The government should provide school buses owned by the state government to our college to overcome the problems. The students will always face this problem so long as private buses are operating school transportation for students," he said.

The Government Technical College is located on the outskirts of Sittwe near Ray Chan Byint Village, 14 miles from downtown Sittwe. At the college there are no hostels for students to live near the campus.

"We are from rural towns of Arakan State but we have no chance to stay in hostels at our college. So we have to live in private hostels at high costs. We have to spend nearly 100,000 Kyats per month to study," the student added.

The government abolished the hostel system at university and colleges in Sittwe fearing student unrest, when students led a nationwide democracy uprising in 1988. Since then, university and college students in Sittwe have been living in private hostels.

Another student from the college said, "We have to spend 40,000 Kyats for food a month and 12,000 Kyats for school fares. We have to spend on many other things like hostel charges, tuition and stationery. Many students from rural areas are not rich but have joined the college as they need education to earn a livelihood."

Many students are facing difficulties studying at colleges and universities due to the high cost under the present military government, leaving them vulnerable to inflation and easily angered over the increased transportation costs.

It was also learnt that the students at the Government Technical College are likely to protest again in the near future if the government fails to find a long-term solution to the problem.

In Sittwe, at least three student protests have taken place in the last few years in response to bus owners increasing fares when the cost of fuel has risen.