More than 6,000 Myanmarese children are studying in schools of Mizoram: Official

Over 6,000 Myanmarese children have been enrolled in various schools across Mizoram, an official informed. These children, along with their parents, have taken refuge in India post the military coup in the neighbouring country last year, as stated in a report by PTI. 

Though there is no concrete law that prohibits Myanmarese children from taking admission to Mizoram's schools, they cannot be treated as 'refugee students' officially as the Government of India has not granted them the status of refugees. This was informed by the School Education Department Director Dr H Lalthlangliana said.

About 5,221 children, from 6,195 such children, have enrolled in government schools. As many as 184 students are enrolled in government-aided institutes and 790 in private schools, he shared.

Since most of the children are from the Chin community, children from Myanmar do not face any language barrier, the official informed. In a few instances, parents have even hired teachers for their children, he said. 

Also, 68 children have enrolled for Class X Board examinations that are conducted by the Mizoram Board of School Education during the 2021-22 academic session, informed Lalthlangliana. Of them, 31 appeared in the examinations and all except three cleared the exam.

A non-profit organisation, the Institute of Chin Affairs (ICA) and Mizoram University (MZU) had announced recently that a diploma course in Burmese language and communication skills at the varsity will be introduced.

Myanmar's official language is Burmese and is spoken by around two-thirds of the population there. 

The course will be offered by MZU jointly with International Development Research Centre (IDRC) from next month, Prof Lalnilawma, head of extension education and rural development department of MZU said.

"This course is recommended for students who wish to study Myanmar's complex, multi-layered society, and work with local and international agencies in Myanmar," ICA and Mizoram University said in a joint statement.

The course will initially be run for a period of 10 months (Semester I & II) beginning in October.

As per official records, more than 30, 000 Myanmar refugees have taken shelter in different parts of Mizoram since the military coup in February last year.

The majority of them are living in relief camps, some in rented houses on their own while others are staying with their local relatives.

The government, in collaboration with village authorities and NGOs, have set up more than 150 relief camps across the state for them. Mizoram shares a 510 km long international border with Myanmar.