Violence acts on education workers including students ruin State’s future plan
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Eain/Thant Zin (NP News) - Jan 27
Violence acts on education workers including students can ruin the State’s future plan, General Aung Lin Dway, the secretary of the State Administration Council (SAC) said.
General Aung Lin Dway delivered the mentioned statement at a coordination meeting on the reconstruction of Loikaw University, which was held on January 21, following the destruction of buildings by terrorists at the university.
On November 13 and 14, 2023, the KNPP/KNDF and PDF terrorist groups deliberately opened fire with heavy weapons and small arms to Loikaw University in Kayah State, which was not a military target.
The security forces deployed to the university were attacked by disproportionately massive forces of the terrorist groups and then the university's educational facilities were destroyed indiscriminately, the secretary of the SAC said.
In addition, 132 teachers and education workers, including the rector, working at Loikaw University, and 64 dependent family members, a total of 196 students, were forcibly arrested by the terrorists.
The KNPP/KNDF and PDF terrorist groups' shelling of civilian educational facilities, and their forcible detention and use of teachers, education staff, and students as human shields instead of allowing them to leave the danger zone to safe places, are war crimes, the General said at the meeting.
He also added that targeting innocent teachers, education workers, and students who are the future of the country, is an inhumane act of violence that destroys the plan of the country.
U Thein Tun Oo, executive director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, told The Statesman that such violence against human resources in education could not only destroy the country's future but also greatly harm the state.
“When a country is overthrown, there are systems in place for education, administration, and the economy. To dismantle any of these systems, they use specific methods. Often, in cases of armed insurgency, local people are unable to engage with education, meaning they cannot think critically or communicate effectively. The result is that people become mere followers, and only then can the ones in power lead them down the path they desire. By destroying education, they extend their control over the population.
Some insurgencies or armed uprisings may stop at a certain point, but usually, people will stay under the control of those in power out of fear. As for the development of a region, any hopes of growth or future prospects vanish. Why? Because education is no longer available,” he said. –