Teacher Absence Affects Haimual Primary School

27 December 2012: Classes for primary school students in Haimual of Falam Township, Chin State have been affected as Daw Kyi Kyi Thint refuses a transfer to the village.

The Burmese assistant teacher still remains in Bualkhua village although her transfer to a new school has been authorised since November last year by Falam Township Department of Education.

Classes were disrupted or cancelled on a number of occasions as Headmaster Thawng Ling alone was not able to cope with his work in teaching students from Grade I to IV, according to the Haimual villager.

“When the headmaster gets sick or travels to Falam to get his salary, the school has to be closed. Sometimes, our children do not go to school the whole week,” said the Chin villager.

When asked about her refusal, Daw Kyi Kyi Thint said the village is too remote and isolated, according to a villager who told the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO).

“Obviously, the fact that she openly refuses to come to our village makes us assume that she must have bribed someone holding a high position in the education department.”

The village administrator of Haimual made an inquiry about the situation by sending a letter to the offices of Falam Township Department of Education and Falam Township Administration in March 2012.

However, Daw Kyi Kyi Thint still teaches in Bualkhua despite an official letter from Falam District Department of Education urging her to go to Haimual by 11 June 2012, according to sources from the village.

Haimual parents express grave concerns about their children’s education as the school has been neglected without enough teachers for over a year.

“Students from Kindergarten, Grade I and II are put together in one class, and Grade III and IV are combined into another class. While the headmaster is teaching in one class, the other is left unattended,” said the villager, who asks not to be named.

There are currently 23 students in the primary school of Haimual village, with a headmaster and an ‘absent’ assistant teacher.

Further details about how Daw Kyi Kyi Thint manages to keep her teaching job secure until today and why no proper action has not been taken regarding the situation are unknown.

Reporting by Thawng Zel Thang
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