Published on July 10, 2013
Opening ceremony of a boarding school was held at Hpung Mai hall in Laiza on July 9 at 9 am. The combined boarding school which accommodates 1725 middle and high school students is located at Alen Bum, the former KIA’s military headquarter, in Laiza. 107 teachers and school staffs are currently serving at the boarding school. The school is administered by KIO’s education department and funded by KIO, NGOs and the parents.
Sara Kaba Sumlut Gam, head of KIO’s education department, urged teachers and school staffs to serve as positive role models for the students during the ceremony. The school’s headmaster Sara Maru Hkawng Lum chaired the opening ceremony and Sara Kaba Lasang Tu San led a prayer of dedication for the school and the students.
Sara Hkawng Lum said, “there are a lot of needs for the students such as clothes, food, and books as most parents cannot provide for their children because they themselves are displaced”. He said KIO plans to provide free education and boarding for IDP children and assistance from other organizations will be helpful.
Another boarding school, Htoi Ningshawng School, which is located at Wung Gau hill and administered by KIO Youth Committee was opened on May 18, 2013. Htoi Ningshawng School currently accommodates 100 students from 3rd-10th grades.
There are about 40,000 war-affected children out of over 100,000 IDPs currently living in about two dozen camps along China-Burma border. The education of those 40,000 school-age children has been disrupted by renewed conflict between Kachin Independence Army and Burmese Army in Kachin and northern Shan State.
