Camps will be established to retrain students who have to resit the matriculation exam because their previous exam answers were destroyed in the earthquake before being marked.
The 50-day retraining camps for students who have to resit the matriculation exam are being organised by the junta’s Ministry of Education.
The unmarked papers were destroyed when the Mandalay University main building, where they were being stored, was engulfed in flames following the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit Myanmar on 28 March 2025 and had its epicentre about 16km (9.9 miles) west of Mandalay City.
62,954 students have been affected and will have to resit the matriculation exam, according to a Ministry of Education 22 April statement.
It also said that the retraining camps would be opening on 28 April 2025 in the townships where students have to resit the matriculation exams. They will also provide participating students with food and accommodation.
University tutors and lecturers will teach intensive revision classes at the camps, according to the ministry.
Though the details of the camp are not yet clear they have begun to be set up and operated in some townships in Kachin State, according to locals.
A resident of Monghnyin Town in Kachin State said: “I heard that students have started being accepted for the camps in the town, but not all of them are joining—some are choosing not to. Guards have been seen at the town’s Basic Education High School 1 (BEHS 1), but it’s still unclear whether the camps will actually be run there.”
According to a 22 April junta statement, students whose unmarked answer sheets were destroyed will be required to resit the matriculation exam between 16 and 21 June. Prior to that they must enrol at the relevant exam centres between 1 and 15 June.
Voice of Shan-Ni has learned that it is impossible for some young people who had already taken the matriculation exam to re-sit the exam, as they are now employed.
A displaced parent living at a camp for displaced people (IDPs) in Monghnyin Township, Kachin State said to Voice of Shan-Ni: “We wanted our children to continue their education even in a war-displaced situation, so we did everything we could to ensure they could finish Grade 12 and take the matriculation exam.
“We went through a lot of hardships. Now, the exams are over, and our children have gone far away for work. Since they've now lost touch with the school curriculum, it’s going to be really hard for them to re-sit the exam. We sent our children to school despite all the challenges, but it’s really upsetting to face the problem of needing to resit after they’ve already taken the exam.”
Students and parents have differing opinions on the junta's decision to require students to resit the matriculation exam following the destruction of the unmarked exam papers. Many have criticised the plan to get students to resit the exam saying that it could cause the students many challenges and difficulties.
