Irrawaddy-May 21
Seriously short of experienced teachers and with schools set to open next month, the military regime, which has dismissed and issued arrest warrants for striking teachers, has been attempting to coax strikers to return to work. The invitation, which has been published daily in the junta’s newspapers since May 17, says anyone who has not committed a serious crime can return to work, with their absence to date being treated as unpaid leave. Nearly 80 percent of Myanmar’s 400,000 teachers joined the Civil Disobedience Movement in opposition to the military coup last year, according to the Education Ministry of the civilian National Unity Government. Last year, as Min Aung Hlaing reopened schools after more than a year of closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak, his regime trained new recruits to fill the vacancies left by striking teachers. But with the junta chief now inviting striking teachers to come back, it is obvious that his replacement scheme has failed. When classes reopened last year, the majority of parents refused to send their children to school, in a show of opposition to the military regime. At the same time, the NUG is providing teacher training taught by striking professors and teachers. The NUG has opened schools in some places under its control and is offering online classes in others.In response to the junta’s invitation, striking education staff have called for a continued boycott of education under military rule. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/specials/junta-watch/junta-watch-a-softer-tone-to-woo-teachers-back-harsh-words-for-the-un-and-more.html
