The Arakan Army (AA) controlling much of Rakhine (Arakan) State in western Myanmar, has imposed steep monthly school fees exclusively on Rohingya students in Buthidaung Township, drawing accusations of extortion and discrimination.

Local residents told Arakan News Agency that Rohingya families are required to pay 10,000 Myanmar Kyat (about US$2.5) per student each month to attend classes, while Rakhine Buddhist students are exempted from any fees. The schools reopened in late June after nearly a year of closure due to fighting between the AA and Myanmar’s military.

The fees are being used to pay local teachers, both Rakhine and Rohingya, as the AA authorities have not provided salaries. However, residents say the burden falls entirely on the already impoverished Rohingya community, many of whom lost their homes and livelihoods when the AA seized Buthidaung on 18 May 2024 after widespread arson and destruction of Rohingya villages.

Hamida, a 45-year-old mother of four, described the policy as unbearable. “I can’t even afford food daily. How can I give 40,000 kyat just for school? Since the militia took control, we cannot move freely and we have no work,” she said.

Human rights monitors have condemned the practice as a form of systematic extortion and part of a broader campaign of marginalization against the Rohingya. The AA, which launched its offensive against Myanmar’s military in November 2023, now controls 14 of 17 townships in Rakhine State. While it portrays itself as fighting for Rakhine self-determination, Rohingya civilians say they face continued persecution under its rule.

The Rohingya have already endured decades of discrimination and were subjected to what the UN described as a genocidal campaign by Myanmar’s military in 2017, which forced nearly one million people to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. Now, those who remain in Rakhine are caught between warring forces and new layers of oppression.

BOB Post