School demolished by education authorities in Bago

(DVB)–Bago authorities have demolished two school buildings in Phoe Yoe Su village, Kawa township, to make way for a new construction project, forcing children to attend classes in gazebos in the local monastery compound, a villager said.

Educational ministry staff and the school’s headteacher demolished two school buildings, worth around 40 million kyat, without consulting parents and elders, the villager said.

Angry parents demanded an explanation for the demolition, but the headteacher was unable to give a valid reason, according to a member of the Union Solidarity and Development Association.

"The parents tried to stop it but they had no chance,” the USDA member said.

“It was done on the instructions of the education department, they said."

Around 200 pupils from kindergarten to sixth standard level were studying at the school.

Villagers are preparing to report the incident to the relevant authorities with the help of rights lawyer Aye Myint of the Guiding Star legal aid group in Bago.

Aye Myint said action should be taken against those who try to make profit from communal land.

Reporting by Arnt Phone Myat