Residents of Kazu Village in Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, are struggling to send their children to school after returning from displacement due to the absence of a local school.
Villagers returning to their homes after conflict-related evacuation are now resettling in Kazu Village. Although arrangements exist for primary education, children are still being taught in houses due to the absence of a proper school, creating significant hardships.
"There isn’t a proper school for the children, so for now they have to study in village houses as a makeshift solution. There aren’t enough teachers either and the lack of proper classrooms makes things even harder, especially during the rainy season. Parents can’t always provide funding, which makes it difficult for teachers to earn a proper wage. Right now, vacant houses—because their owners haven’t returned yet—are being used as temporary classrooms,” a Kazu villager told KNG.
In 2024, Kazu Village elders ran a small, self-reliant temporary school that managed to educate children through the end of the school year. However, it was only a simple structure made of bamboo and thatch.
Now that the structure is no longer usable, the children are being taught in vacant houses for the current school year.
Kazu Village Primary School, operating through makeshift solutions, currently has four teachers and around 60 students. Because of the teacher shortage, one teacher often has to manage two classes simultaneously.
Although land has been designated for the school, the villagers are prioritizing rebuilding their lives after returning, leaving them unable to focus on constructing the school for now.
Middle and high school students from Kazu Village need to go to nearby Garrayang Village to attend school.
Due to prolonged conflicts, residents of Garrayang, Kazu, and Dabat villages along the Myitkyina-Bhamo Highway were displaced for over a decade, starting in 2011, and were finally able to return in 2023.
These villages are under the control of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), with administration managed by its political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).
However, the KIO is not yet fully able to manage education and healthcare in Kazu and Dabat villages, so the locals are running these services on a self-reliant basis.
Kazu villagers were displaced twice, and currently around 120 households have been resettled since their second return in 2023.
