CAD is implementing education project in Htilin township which is located in Magway region. Htilin township is subject to clashes between the military and armed resistance: Magway is contested as a corridor to Chin, while Sagaing is targeted by the military due to the high presence of resistance and for access to north Chin. Both regions see raids and clashes, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, arson and property destruction.

Thousands of people are thus displaced, with a fluid situation in terms of type and duration of displacements: at least 53.000 IDPs were reported in Magway and at least 72.970 in Sagaing.

These types of displacement were identified:

• People displaced for a short time (1-7 days), often near their homes to permit the self-monitoring of abandoned assets and allow for rapid moves during raids.
• People displaced for medium (2-3 weeks) and longer-term (>3 weeks): some living in relatives/friends’ or rented homes in other locations.
• People living longer-term in makeshift camps, in their own/relatives’ farms or in the jungle.
• The population of the area reports to be suffering from:  feeling of insecurity, logistical constraints, high cost of living, poor or lack of health services, interruption of education.

Most of the income generating activities of rural areas are being challenged. As a consequence, families report significant income decrease, facing forms of food insecurity and adopting negative coping strategies.

In most of the villages, houses destroyed or partially destroyed by arson are reported, in the order of some units per village.

Public service/governance structures are almost 100% non-functional (except the Police Force, often perceived as part of the military oppression), while no clear parallel governance structure is set up by oppositional forces yet.  Targeted areas are not reported to be covered by humanitarian assistance so far.

In such a context, social services and safety nets are disrupted. Almost all key informants interviewed said they feel overwhelming fear of the dangers of moving around, caused by the threat of military raids in conflict-affected areas and neighbouring villages. Protection is thus a crosscutting need, especially for vulnerable groups:

• Women: since a lot of military aged boys and men either are joining the opposition armed forces and/or avoiding travelling, women assume non-traditional gender tasks such as travelling to markets, checking out own properties in abandoned villages, on top of their traditional roles such as carrying water. When carrying out these activities, they are subjected to SGBV risks, or arbitrary arrests
• Elderly, pregnant women, PwDs, chronically ill people: shortage of medicines and healthcare services
• Youth: Risk of arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings

EDUCATION SPECIFIC PROBLEMS AND NEEDS

Access and learning environment

In the targeted areas there are no fully functional schools. Around 50% of the schools are partially functioning only in areas controlled by the SAC. Schools that are not functioning at all, are closed due to conflict or because they shelter IDPs or have all their teachers in the CDM.

Therefore, in the school year 21/22, around 50% of the pupils in the area have lost the entire year while the other 50% have lost from one third to half of the school days.