Statement on access to learning for millions of children in Myanmar
YANGON, 27 May 2022 – As the traditional start of the Myanmar academic year in June approaches, millions of children and young people across the country face uncertainty as to when and how they will continue learning.
The learning of almost 12 million children and young people in Myanmar has been disrupted by COVID-19 and the current humanitarian crisis.
All children in Myanmar have the right to education, as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Myanmar Child Rights Law, and the National Education Law.
To realize this right, access to quality learning options needs to be rapidly scaled up. To facilitate access to learning, the safety of children, their parents, and educators must be protected. These include teachers, volunteer teachers, learning facilitators and education officials. Safe, unimpeded access for the delivery of all humanitarian aid, including the delivery of learning materials, needs to be guaranteed.
Guided by humanitarian principles, UNICEF is working with its partners to provide supplementary learning opportunities for children by distributing reading books, including in ethnic languages; supplementary learning materials; and essential learning package kits, coupled with follow-up support to children and their families.
UNICEF is engaging with relevant stakeholders to help ensure that the most vulnerable children can benefit from safe learning, wherever they are.
UNICEF in Myanmar operates within the UN system to protect and promote the rights of children enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF abides by the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence, as well as do no harm and universality in all of its work.
UNICEF in Myanmar
UNICEF has been working with the Government and the people of Myanmar since 1950. In partnership with the Government and the civil society, UNICEF’s current focus of work aims at reducing child mortality, improving access and quality of education and protecting children from violence, abuse and exploitation.
For more information about UNICEF and its work in Myanmar:
Please visit: https://www.unicef.org/myanmar
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