June 26 , 2008

Burmese military entered and burnt down Tay Mu Der Village
Tay Mu Der School remains unopened

On 3rd June 2008 Burmese battalion (No 16) fired mortars toward Tay Mu Der, Tha Dah Der and Ta Kaw Hto Baw villages. They then proceeded to burn down the houses, rice stores and churches. The Burmese military that entered the village of Tay Mu Der, burnt down Saw Kaw Soe, Saw Gweh Lay Moo and Saw Gay Hoos' tents and all their farming tools.
They also burnt down 3 rice stores, which contained 300 tins of rice, killed goats, chicken and 3 buffaloes, for their food.

"When they attacked, it had been raining constantly for over a week. This made it very difficult for the young children and old people to escape from the SPDC" said Saw Mu Htee, a representative of Karen Teacher Working Group, who remained in the village whilst the attack was taking place.
Saw Mu Htee added, "The SPDC took all of the school material, which was kept in the school office, so the school still remains closed."

June 21 , 2008

Computer Studies is Part of the Program for Aspiring Teachers Studying in the Mountains of Karen State

The Karen Teacher Training College is located in the war affected areas of Karen State. Its teachers and students come from internally displaced communities throughout the Karen homeland. KTTC graduates return to their community schools immediately following graduation. On May 20th, hours after their graduation ceremony, 2008 KTTC graduates immediately began their long journeys back to their homes (sometimes up to 3 week perilous walk) to begin preparing for the upcoming schoo year.

The 2008-9 1st and 2nd year students are already immersed in this year's studies. 1st year students are doing an intensive subject updgrade. 2nd year students are currently studying pedagogy. They will then focus on primary level teaching methodology before specializing in either Arts or Science teaching methodology for the high school level.

In the evenings, when the generator is running between 6pm and 9pm, KTTC students work on the 10 laptops that make up the 'KTTC Computer Room'. They learn type in Karen, Burmese and English while developing competency in using computers. These computers also will be used as resources in their studies - electronic encyclopedias and language courses are just two examples.

The political situation continues to worsen throughout Karen State, and funding for KTWG programs continues to be cut due to the weakening $USD amongst and a lack of support for cross-border work inside the ethnic States of Burma. Basic food stuffs and learning materials are regularly being reduced at KTTC in face of these cuts. Yet, KTTC students and teachers continue to be in good spirits and to focus on the improvement of schools throughout Kawthoolei (Karen State).

May 4 , 2008

Cyclone Blocks Off Support Routes to Schools in Dooplaya District

Cyclone Nargis has destroyed homes, roads and bridges throughout Dooplaya district in Karen State. The cyclone hit as district education leaders planned for school materials to be send to the remaining 161 schools in their district (school materials were delivered to the other 163 schools in March). Because of the destruction to roads and bridges, and because the rainy season is almost upon us, it has been decided that these school materials will have to be delivered after the rainy season is over - in October.

April 29, 2008

Teacher Training Workshops Completed in the Forests Throughout Karen State

Throughout March and early April, KTWG organized eight concurrent teacher training workshops. KTWG has been running what are known as 'Summer Vacation Training' workshops (they are held during the summer break of the Karen school year) since 1997.

Often these workshops are organized in the forest so not to be detected by the Burma Army. In Doo Tha Htoo district, 92 teachers (and some parents) constructed a small bamboo stage and leaf roof shelter which doubled as temporary classroom and dormintory. Saw Mu Htee, KTWG's in-service teacher training coordinator, reported that local teachers were extremely active in the workshop. He said it was the best workshop yet to be held in the district.

Over 300 teachers participated in workshops throughout Karen State. Workshops focused upon general teaching skills as well as specific subject methodology. The content of the training was defined by participants - based on what they perceive their needs are for their classrooms. Each teacher was asked to fill out a comprehensive questionnaire which exmaines various issues facing Karen State schools. These questionnaires will be compiled and analyzed in an upcoming report.

April 26, 2008

Karen Education Department Sets Guidelines for Education Assistance to Karen State Schools

The KED Annual Meeting was held in Mae Ra Ma Luang refugee camp last week. Education leaders from all refugee camps and all Karen State districts/townships were present. On April 24th, the issue of support to Karen State schools was discussed at length.

Karen State schools suffer the same fate as their communities - poverty and displacement are rampant. Over the past years, a number of local and foreign organizations have provided support to Karen State schools. In 2005, the Karen State Education Assistance Group was established. KSEAG provides basic education support to all schools unless the school receives support from another individual or group. While KSEAG support is provided through the KED structure, often other supporters provide assistance directly to Karen State schools through personal connections. This means that often education leaders are not informed about assistance provided by groups outside of KSEAG making it difficult to manage these schools. Furthermore, non-KSEAG support is often significantly higher than what KSEAG is able to support. This disparity can create conflic and jealousy between communities.

KED decided that individuals/groups who want to support Karen State education assistance should provide their support through the Karen State Education Assistance Group. Where this is not acceptable to the donor, the donor can provide their support directly through the district education leader. Each district has the right to develop their criteria for education assistance for their district. At the meeting, districts agreed that teacher subsidies should be capped at 5000 Baht per year (approximately $170 USD).

February 6, 2008

Fire Destroys Education Buildings in Htam Hin Refugee Camp

On February 3rd, according to the Kwekalu website, the office of the sports education organization 'Right to Play' in Htam Hin refugee camp was destroyed by fire. The cause is unknown. Also, a vocational training centre and the IOM's (International Organizaton for Migration) centre in camp were also destroyed. Material losses included motorcycles, and a generator but luckily nobody was injured. To read the article in Karen and/or view photos and video of the fire, click here.

September 14 , 2007

Lack of Support for IDP Schools in Eastern Burma

Communities and schools throughout Karen State suffer from ongoing Burma Army attacks and the associated poverty and displacement. Over the past years, KTWG and its partners have attempted to alleviate this suffering by providing basic material support to these schools. In 2006-7, we were able to provide 1300 Baht($40 USD)/year to all Karen State teachers and 3 notebooks, 2 pencils and a pen to all students. Even this success was not able to meet the needs of Karen State schools.

The situation of schooling in other ethnic States is just as dire. KTWG recently met with education leaders from Mon and Shan areas as well as agencies supporting other areas to discuss the realities and the strategies undertaken in those areas. In all areas, the situation was similar, displacement, poverty and lack of material support was hampering the development of local schools. To see a map of the gerenal breakdown (and perhaps not absolutelycomprehensive) of what education assistance is available across Eastern Burma, click here.

July23, 2007

Only 2 Schools Remain Open in Taungoo District

On the morning of Friday July 18th, one of KTWG's mobile teacher trainers returned from Taungoo district. He left over a month ago to visit and assess schools in his home district. Over the past year, his district has been devastated by Burma Army attacks which has left the majority of villagers internally displaced for forced to seek refugee in temporary shelters organized by Karen leaders along the Salween river. A little over one year ago, there were 61 Karen schools operating in Taungoo district - now there are only 2.

July 11, 2007

Diplomas and School Accreditation for Resettled Karen

Many Karen who have resettled to 3rd countries face problems getting credit for the education they received in Burma or in the refugee camps. ZOA and KED have discussed this issue at length and have come to a decision. They have created an education report book that every student will receive that documents their schooling. For those adults who have already completed their schooling, they can request KED to provide them with a document of proof of completion of schooling. Also, for those people who completed their schooling inside of Burma but received no accreditation, they can sit an equivalency exam in camp. For further information, please contact us .

July 5, 2007 - Mae Sod

FTUK Advocates for Karen State Schools in Geneva/UK

Saw Ywa Hai and other representatives of the Federal Trade Union of Kawthoolei returned yesterday after having spent over a month in Geneva and the UK advocating for the rights of Karen people. From June 1st to the 14th in Geneva, testimony was given to the ILO concerning ongoing forced labour throughout Karen State and furthermore FTUK encouraged the ILO to push for the Burma
army to be called to the International Criminal Court. Saw Ywa Hai also met with delegates from Normay, Sweden, Denmark and China as well as trade union representatives from numerous countries.

On June 15th, the FTUK delgation left Geneva for the UK where they met the Burmese community living there. After attedning the UNISON conference, they went to London to celebrate Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday with the Burma Campaign UK group. Numerous meetings followed including DFID represesentatives, TV stations and Amnesty International. The issue of humanitarian aid and funding support for Karen State was raised with DFID who according to Saw Ywa Hay responded very favorably. In fact, Saw Ywa Hai suggested they were interested in education in Karen State and the potential of supporting schools there.

June 26, 2007 - Ee Htu Hta IDP Camp
A New School to be Opened to Respond to Growing Popuation

Ee Htu Hta camp, which is on the banks of the Salween river adjacent from Thailand, was organized in March 2006 as a shelter for thousands of Karen who were fleeing from Burma Army attacks. The camp population has been growing ever since. Basic living needs are being provided by Karen community based organizations and some other agencies.

Last week, it was decided that the camp territory must be expanded to deal with the increasing popluation. The recent arrival of 184 IDPs from Kler Lwee Htoo and Taungoo districts meant that a new section would be set up. All camp members have been asked to help build houses for the new arrivals. A primary school will also be built for children in this new section. One problem is that sufficient amount of teachers have not yet been identified. There are a number of people who have recently fled attacks and are currently on their way to Ee Htu Hta, some of whom might be teachers.

June 21, 2007
Refugee Students Perform for World Refugee Day

Yesterday, June 20th, 10 refugee students from Mae Ra Ma Luang and Ma La Oon refugee camps made the 4 hour drive into the town of Mae Sariang to join the World Refugee Day activities sponsored by the UNHCR at the local high school. In the morning, refugee agencies put up displays and held workshops with Thai students. In the afternoon, the refugee students performed songs and a film depicting schooling inside Karen State was shown to over 100 Thai students. The purpose of the day was to foster understanding amongst the Thai community concerning the plight of refugees. When asked what they could do to help refugees, one Thai student said, "We must pray for them", while another suggested, "We can write letters to them".

Later in the afternoon, the refugee students visited the KTWG office for ice cream before visiting a few sites in Mae Sariang. Their busy and exciting day was capped with a dinner at a restaurant with KTWG staff and a few foreign friends. The students were obviously delighted with their day - for many of them it had been their first visit to a town. However, by 9 pm they were visibly exhausted and returned to the Karen Refugee Committee for undoubtedly very deep sleeps.

June 18, 2007
34 New Prospective Teachers Join KTTC

A new group of young and energetic students from across Karen State arrived at KTWG's Karen Teacher Training College (KTTC) during the last week of May. The record sized group of 34 quickly got settled into KTTC life and began their studies. During their two-year program, they will study pedagogy, subject methodology, teaching skils, community schooling and many other subjects.

One student from Mergui-Tavoy who made the very long and dangerous trip said, "It doesn't matter to me about how dangerous and difficult it is, I have wanted to study at KTTC for 2 years now because KTTC is the one school that is focusing on Karen State children and education." Other students had similar stories, having risked Burma Army attacks while making the 3-15 day walk to KTTC.

June 16, 2007
Indigenous KnowledgeTransmission Conference

The Indigenous Knowledge and Peoples (IKAP) network will be hosting a conference about Indigenous knowledge transmission in Guizhou, China from November 16-21. Indigenous knowledge (IK)practitioners from Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and China will examine threats on IK transmission in their areas and look at prospects for the promotion of IK. KTWG is an active member in IKAP and helped form the Burma regional group within IKAP.

June 8 , 2007
Education Reps from Across Karen State Plan for 2007-8

Yesterday, KTWG met with all Karen State education leaders to discuss plans for teacher training and educational assistance for Karen State schools. All Karen State education leaders gathered this week for the annual Karen Education Deaprtment's meeting. At the meeting, the 2006-7 distribution of teacher subsidies and school materials was acknowledged as being very successful, especially as it was the first time in Karen history that all Karen schools were able to receive support. It was noted that there are still a number of individuals who continue to provide support to schools without notifying the Karen Education Department, however no decision was taken in how to deal with this issue. Dates and procedures for the 2007-8 distriubtion of support was agreed upon by all.

June 5 , 2007
SPDC Builds Roads and Destroys Schools

Since the beginning of 2007, SPDC has been attempting to build a new road which passes through many Karen State villages starting from Ler Mu Plaw in Lu Thaw Township in northern Mutraw district to Bu Has Khee in Taungoo district. In order to build the road, the Burma army has destroyed many villages such as Ti Bwae Khee, Ti Hsie Khee, Ti Baw Day, Taw Ku Mu, Bo Na Der, T’May Kie, Kay Pu, Kaw Ter Der, T' yu Plaw, Eibanaysa, klen Mu, Ta Ken Der, Baw lay Der, His Day, Ku Mu Der, and Plo Khee. All schools in these villages were destroyed by SPDC. Some villages such as Ti Hsi Khee, Ti Bwae Khee, Taw Ku Mu, and Bo Na Der were burnt last month. All school materials were also destroyed.

Saw Lweh Gay, a KTWG mobile Trainer reported that all villagers in the destroyed villages became displaced people, and they didn’t have enough food and medicine. Some schools in k'baw Khee, Ti His Khee, Ti Bwae Khee, Bo Na Der and Taw Ku Mu villages were destroyed in July, 2006 and villagers have not been able to return since.

May 25, 2007
A First in Karen State Education - All Schools Supported

For the first time in Karen history, all Karen State schools received basic educational assistance during the 2006-7 academic year. There were 914 schools with 2,691 teachers and 61,210 operating this year despite intensified Burmese military which forced the closure of over 100 schools and the displacement of tens of thousands of villagers.

KTWG and its partners were able to provide a 1300 Baht ($35 USD) subsidy to 2,447 teachers and 3 notebooks, 2 pens and a pencil to 57,967 students - the outstanding 244 teachers and 3,243students received support from other sources. Despite intense logistical and security issues, Karen education leaders successfully distributed subsidies and materials within the proposed time.

Click here to read school news stories from 2006