Nearly 7 Million Children Out of School Due to Coup, but Literacy Rate Has Increased, Says Interim President

Nai Min Lwin/ Irrawaddy Times September 9 Despite nearly 7 million children losing access to education and over 5 million youths losing educational and employment opportunities due to the military coup and the military's attacks on the interim government, literacy rates have increased under their administration, said Interim President Min Aung Hlaing. The interim president made these remarks at the International Literacy Day ceremony held in Naypyidaw yesterday, September 8, stating that based on their 2024 census data, literacy and numeracy rates have increased. "Currently, we have prioritized efforts to provide literacy to people in rural and remote areas. As a result, according to the 2024 census, there has been an increase in literacy and numeracy rates," the interim president said. The interim government has announced that according to the 2024 census, conducted only in some areas under their control due to the lack of international assistance following the military coup, Myanmar's literacy rate has reached 92.1 percent and numeracy rate has reached 92.3 percent. Min Aung Hlaing, the interim president, compared this to the 2014 census, which showed a literacy rate of 89.5 percent, and the 2019 interim census, which showed 89.1 percent, and pointed out that the literacy rate has further increased after the coup. However, observers have pointed out that the interim government's 2024 census includes many estimations and is inconsistent with ground realities. According to a statement from the Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar (ISP-Myanmar), nearly 7 million children (more than half of school-aged children, or 53 percent) have lost access to basic education since the military coup. Although literacy is measured by basic writing, reading, and arithmetic skills for those aged 15 and above, the fact that millions of children are out of school will lead to an increase in the number of illiterate people in the future, according to military and social affairs analysts. "Most of the children who are out of school will not return to the classroom. Even if they can write and read a little at home or with the help of others, they have not learned systematically, so in the future, they will only become casual laborers. This is a destruction of human resources," a CDM official told Irrawaddy Times. Similarly, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has also announced that over three-quarters (more than 5 million) of Myanmar's youth are unable to continue their education and have lost employment opportunities due to the military coup and the military's airstrikes. Furthermore, the interim government and the military are forcibly conscripting even underage children under the conscription law to fill troop shortages, and are targeting civilians, schools, religious buildings, and hospitals. Photo – MOI