Thousands of Children in Myanmar Face New School Year Without Schools After Earthquake

Save The Children

YANGON, 2 June 2025 – As schools reopen across Myanmar, tens of thousands of children are beginning the academic year in makeshift classrooms, with more than 2,500 schools still damaged or destroyed following the devastating earthquake in March, Save the Children warned on Monday.

The earthquake, one of the most powerful to hit the country in recent years, compounded an already dire humanitarian situation. Even before the disaster, an estimated 6.3 million children in Myanmar were in need of humanitarian support due to ongoing conflict and climate-related crises.

Among the affected is 10-year-old Zin Phyo*, whose home and school were both destroyed. “If I had magic powers, I would bring the houses and school back to how they were before,” he told Save the Children. “Some of my friends are afraid to come back to school. If I get the chance, I will clean my classroom and wear my school uniform proudly.”

Save the Children is providing education kits—including school bags, stationery, and t-shirts—to help students like Zin Phyo continue learning. The organization has also distributed essential aid such as food and clean water, and established child-friendly spaces offering emotional support.

Abdurahman Sharif, Senior Humanitarian Director at Save the Children International, stressed the urgency of the situation:
“Despite the huge scale of the crisis, the international community’s response has been woefully inadequate. Education is lifesaving—it protects children in a safe space and provides a sense of stability.”

He called for a coordinated and sustained global effort to address the immense and overlapping challenges faced by children and families in earthquake-hit regions. “They must not be forgotten,” he said.

In addition to education, affected communities urgently require shelter, food, clean water, and psychosocial support. Save the Children, which has operated in Myanmar since 1995, continues to deliver emergency relief and protection services in many of the hardest-hit areas.

[*Name changed to protect identity]

-2025-06-03