Some one hundred people fled ongoing battles between the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Burma Army in northern Shan State’s Namhsan Township, arriving in Mandalay on Sunday over concerns for their children’s education.
A high school and a middle school in Namhsan town and three primary schools in nearby villages have shut due to the instability and lack of students, Namhsan Constituency (2) lawmaker Daw Khin Myint Swe told The Irrawaddy.
“We are afraid that our children’s education will be stalled,” said Daw Nan Hla Yee, a Namhsan local taking refuge at Za Yan Kyaung of Myin Wun Min Gyi Monastery in Chanmyathazi Township, Mandalay. “Their end of year exam is on Feb. 13, but we had to run away from our home.”
Among the displaced persons was a primary school teacher from Namhsan named Daw Myint Myint Khaing who said that students had stopped coming to school as they left the area to seek refuge with their families.