Kantarawaddy Times
“If the coup had never happened, I would be attending university and pursuing my dreams,” says 17-year-old Po Po (pseudonym).
Po Po is now 17 years old and stopped attending school after completing Grade 8. She studied under the new education system for about two years under the military regime, but due to financial difficulties within her family, she chose to leave school and work.
She currently works at a clothing shop in a major city controlled by the junta. Although she earns 300,000 kyats a month, she sends money back home after every payday and covers her own expenses by saving pocket money provided by her employer. She has now been working for nearly three years.
Under Myanmar’s labour laws and the Child Rights Law, the minimum age for employment is 14. Those aged between 14 and 15 are considered “children” and are permitted to work light jobs for up to five hours a day only with a doctor’s recommendation, without affecting their education. The law also prohibits children in this age group from working between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Those aged between 16 and 18 are classified as “young workers” and are allowed to work up to eight hours a day. However, they are not allowed to work in hazardous workplaces, such as those involving dangerous machinery or the handling of chemicals.
However, for young workers like Po Po who have no other choice, they have to remain at their workplaces for 10 to 12 hours a day. Since there are times when there are fewer customers at the shop, they can sometimes take breaks while remaining at work.
Across Karenni State, there are many school-age young people like Po Po who have been forced to give up their education and work.
For a young person, access to education is a fundamental foundation for building a future. However, instead of being in classrooms, many young people in Karenni State are now shouldering both what they see as their responsibilities in these times and the burden of helping their families make a living.
“I feel really admired when I see other people going to school or attending training courses. At a time when I should be studying and spending time warmly with my family, I have to work instead,” Po Po said, describing her situation.
Like Po Po, many young people from Karenni State have left school and gone abroad to work to support their families. Although there is no exact population number, most people believe that such cases can be found in their surroundings.
“If the coup had not happened, it wouldn’t just be me. My school friends don’t have any reason to come here. The main reason is also the situation at home,” said a 24-year-old young woman from Demoso.
She is currently working in Thailand. If the coup was not taking place, she would most likely be a university student by now.
As a consequence of the intense armed conflict that has continued since 2021, Karenni State has also become one of the areas in Myanmar with the largest displacement.
According to the Karenni Human Rights Group’s (KnHRG) report Running Out of Time, the number of internally displaced people in Karenni State reached at least 210,000 in 2024, accounting for 80 percent of the state’s population. Fighting, unsafe transportation routes, economic decline, and disruptions to basic services have significantly impacted youths’ educational pathways.
At present, ongoing instability on the ground has forced some schools in Karenni State to close, while others have to repeatedly open and close. Some schools are teaching secretly inside residential homes, while some schools have to open in forests and mountains where people cannot easily see them.
Due to these concerns and growing needs, the number of students like Po Po who are dropping out of school is increasing day by day.
Maw Mi Mar, Head of the Education Department of the Interim Executive Council of Karenni State (IEC), said that the number of students attending basic education schools in Karenni State has decreased by around 2,000 this year compared with the previous year.
“Yes. According to the data we have collected so far, we found that the number of students has decreased by nearly 2,000 compared with last year,” said Maw Mi Mar.
Students may drop out of school because of security concerns, teacher shortages, or family needs.
“There are students who dropped out of school this year. In previous years, there weren’t students dropping out. When we asked them why they left school, they didn’t really have an answer. We asked what difficulties they were facing. If there is anything we can do or any way we can help from our side, we will do it. But when we asked through their friends, they mainly said that there was no one left at home to work and earn an income,” a teacher said regarding the increasing number of students leaving school.
As the revolutionary period drags on, conditions are becoming increasingly difficult. Maw Mi Mar said that some children studying in unsafe environments have experienced psychological trauma, while their ability to concentrate and their interest in studying have also weakened.
She added that parents, who are themselves displaced by conflict, have no stable sources of income, so they can no longer prioritize their children’s education.
“In a situation like this, it is very difficult for a parent to make a decision. If we want them to continue attending school, where are we supposed to find the money for school fees? No one in the family can also go out and work, so it is very difficult,” said the mother of a student.
Today, when a young person gives up their education, it may not have an immediate major impact. However, as the number of young people abandoning their education increases, within the next few years there could be a decline in the human resources that would contribute to society.
“It depends on how much those of us currently responsible for governance during this interim period can do and how much we can plan to create employment opportunities domestically, so that young people do not have to leave the country to work. Only then can we manage the situation of those leaving to work abroad. As long as there are no such plans, I don’t think we will be able to control the situation of people going to neighbouring countries for work. Therefore, we can only manage this issue if we are able to create good opportunities for them,” said Khun Thomas, Head of the Youth Affairs Department of the IEC.
According to data from the IEC Youth Affairs Department, there are approximately 7,000 young people who have left the country to work abroad since the military coup.
