Myanmar’s military has been accused of deliberately targeting schools in Karen National Union (KNU) territory, with local officials claiming 34 institutions were destroyed over the past two years. The Karen Education and Culture Department (KECD) said the attacks, carried out between September 2024 and September 2026, involved repeated airstrikes and artillery fire across all seven districts of Kawthoolei. At least 33 teachers and students were killed and 74 others injured. “Although we have recorded 34 schools that were attacked, some were targeted repeatedly,” said Saw Thaw Thi, KECD’s communications officer, stressing that regime forces struck areas where children were gathered. The KNU had signed the international Safe Schools Declaration in September 2024, pledging to protect education during armed conflict. Yet the KECD reported a sharp rise in strikes against schools in the years that followed, accusing the junta of violating its own claims of seeking peace. The department called on the international community to hold Myanmar’s military accountable, warning that the destruction of educational infrastructure undermines the future of entire communities. The findings echo a 2026 report by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, which documented a 50 per cent global increase in assaults on schools over two years. Myanmar ranked among the countries with the highest casualty rates, underscoring the scale of the crisis. For Karen communities, the loss is not only physical but deeply social, stripping children of safe spaces and disrupting education for thousands. Analysts say the attacks highlight the junta’s strategy of targeting civilian life to weaken resistance in contested areas. As Myanmar’s civil war grinds on, the destruction of schools adds another layer to the humanitarian toll, leaving families without classrooms and children without hope of a normal education. -2026-09-14
