Diversity and Fragmentation of Myanmar Education: Schooling Shaped by Protracted Conflict and Crisis

This technical brief highlights key findings from a detailed report of a rigorous review of the existing body of research in education in the conflict-affected context of Myanmar: Diversity and Fragmentation of Myanmar Education: Schooling Shaped by Protracted Conflict and Crisis. Myanmar’s history since its independence in 1948 has been characterised predominantly by political instability and violent internal conflicts involving ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) and the Myanmar military. As a result of the 2021 coup, 98% of Myanmar children, including approximately 11.4 million school-aged children, are affected by the ongoing crisis. Over 3.5 million are out-of-school and 6.5 million are experiencing learning deprivation despite attending school (Valenza and Stoff, 2023). Schools have been caught in the conflicts between armed resistance actors and the State Administration Council (SAC) military junta. Moreover, educational provisions have become heavily politicised, often used to serve the ideologies and political visions of different armed groups, making education a victim of political controversies as well as the ongoing violence. There is an urgent need for a robust evidence base to help education providers – and those that support them – navigate the barriers to education and mitigate disruptions to teaching and learning amid ongoing violence.

This review draws upon relevant studies conducted since 2000 as well as complementary findings from journalistic writing and key informant interviews conducted in 2024. It organises, describes and analyses the current evidence base for education in Myanmar and identifies evidence gaps for future research. It looks primarily at three educational settings affected by conflict and crisis contexts:

1.  non-state ethnic minority education provided by various actors in areas contested by or under the control of different EAOs, operating in parallel to the central state education system; 
2.  refugee education provided in the nine refugee camps on the Thailand side of Myanmar’s border, overseen by two ethnic minority refugee committees (Karen and Karenni); and 
3.  migrant education in Thailand’s Tak Province, consisting of over 60 learning centres for Myanmar migrants