Student protest grows bigger
A group of students from Ayeyawady Region began their march against the National Education Law on February 3, joining students from Mandalay, Rakhine and other towns.
Arriving in Kyaunggon Township, they received warm welcome from local residents, including farmers. The locals also donated cash and gifts to the students.
The march made an overnight stop in Kangyidaunt Township on February 4. In Darka village, they held a talk on the education law.
“At this time, we need to be united. We would like to urge all students from Ayeyawady Region to join us. We need the support of the public and the students to continue the boycott battle,” said Phyo Htet Kyaw, a member of the Ayeyawady Boycott Students’ Column Observance Committee.
The march will proceed to Pantanaw, Nyaungdon, Maubin, Pyapon and Dedaye Townships before joining the main boycott column from Mandalay in Yangon.
The main group on February reached Yinseik village in Magway Region,, where they paid tribute to the statues of farmer leader Seya San and oil worker leader Thakhin Pho Hla Gyi. From there, they proceeded to Thit Yar Kauk village for an overnight stop.
The students received permission to enter the compound of Computer University. There, they held a talk on the education law on the lower level of the main lecture hall.
“The teachers and students from Magway Computer University took to the streets to boycott the national education law because we urged the government to amend the bill. A four-party talk on the amendment of national education bill was held at Diamond Jubilee Hall of Yangon University on February 1. But the agreements were broken, and the meeting arranged for Tuesday at the education ministry in Nay Pyi Taw was postponed following a directive from the president,” said Min Thwe Thit, Joint-Secretary of All Burma Students’ Union.
“Only 15 student delegates were invited to attend the meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on February 3. We don’t want any discrimination that has no transparency. We urged the authorities to invite other students to attend the meeting, but we failed. Then, the discussion was cancelled by the government’s unilateral will. They [government] revealed its opinions to the students,” he said.
Students from Technology University and Medicine University in Magway also participated in talks with the boycott students.
On February 3, the boycott students’ column was banned from Magway University. The following day, they were granted entrance to Magway’s Computer University.
“We don’t want a head-on confrontation between the government and students. If a confrontation were to occur, the march may be delayed. We met with the authorities in recent days and allowed the students to hold a talk because the students gave a talk peacefully without damaging the school’s activities. We don’t need to demand permission from the authorities. Our School Administrative Committee allowed us to decide by ourselves,” said Dr Soe Lin Aung, an acting principle of Magway Computer University.
