Members of the Kayin State Border Guard Force (BGF) and villagers from three communities carried out a joint cleanup operation on June 5 to prepare for the reopening of the community-run Kapaw Htaw high school, which has remained closed for nearly five years due to armed conflict in the region, in Ahtwin Kwin Kalay, at the foothills of the Dawna Range in Myawady Township.
The cleanup effort involved more than 150 BGF personnel led by Colonel Saw Mothon, Commander of BGF Military Region No. 4, and Major Saw Htoo, as well as more than 150 volunteers from Ahtwin Kwin Kalay (Noe Poe), Apyin Kwin Kalay (Hty Mu Hta), and Ahtwin Me Kanae villages. Participants cleaned school buildings and desks and cleared weeds, undergrowth, and brushwood using both manual labour and machinery.
According to Ms. Naw Ae Say Pow, Chairperson of the Myanmar Migrant Workers School Committee and the Kapaw Htaw Foundation, the community-run school was established in 2013 and will offer education up to Grade 12.
“The school will provide education through Grade 12. Students will sit for the university entrance examination at government high schools in Myawady. As an independent school, we will teach the government curriculum as well as additional language subjects, including Thai and English. Based on the current enrollment list, more than 70 students are expected to attend,” she said.
The school was forced to close for about five years because of armed conflict in the area and is now preparing to resume classes for the 2026–2027 academic year.
Speaking about the reopening initiative, the commander of BGF Military Region No. 4 said the organization was committed to supporting education in local communities.
“We are doing everything we can to reopen schools for the education of children in the villages. Our main goal is to help children become literate. Only educated people can distinguish between right and wrong,” he said.
Earlier, on June 2, the Apyin Kwin Kalay middle school, Atwin Kwin Kalay post-primary school, and Ahtwin Me Kanae middle school (branch) were also reopened
