Myanmar Spring Chronicle – Scenes from June 28
(MoeMaKa), June 29, 2026
Matriculation Exam Results Announced: Education and the Spring Revolution
On June 28, the military junta announced the results of the 2025–2026 matriculation examination, which was held in March in areas under its control. According to the official announcement, the nationwide pass rate was 52 percent. Of more than 250,000 candidates who sat for the exam across the country, over 130,000 students passed.
Yangon Region had the highest number of examinees, with more than 46,000 candidates. Mandalay Region ranked second with over 45,000, while Ayeyarwady Region came third with more than 36,000 candidates.
Kayah State recorded the lowest number of examinees, with only 471 students sitting the exam. In Rakhine State, where the Arakan Army (AA) controls almost the entire state, only 1,692 students took the examination. Chin State had even fewer, with 843 examinees.
The distribution of matriculation candidates also reflects the extent of the junta’s territorial control. In Rakhine State, where the military now controls only Sittwe, Manaung, and Kyaukphyu, just over 1,600 students took the exam. Likewise, in Chin State, where the military retains control only over Hakha, Falam, and Tedim, only around 800 students sat for the examination.
Another factor is that many residents from conflict-affected states and regions have been displaced and are living temporarily in cities such as Yangon, Mandalay, and Ayeyarwady, where they took the examination while sheltering from the fighting.
The nation’s top-scoring matriculation student this year was Ma Thiri Soe, an ethnic Rakhine student who fled with her family from Sittwe and took the examination in Mandalay. Her achievement—earning the highest score nationwide while living as an internally displaced person—is widely regarded as an inspiring example of perseverance and success despite extraordinary hardship.
However, these statistics only cover students who took the examination in areas administered by the military junta. They do not include students studying under the interim education systems established in territories controlled by ethnic armed organizations or People’s Defense Force (PDF) groups.
Reliable public data remain unavailable regarding the number of students enrolled in interim education systems in areas such as Karenni State, Ta’ang (Palaung) territory, Kachin State, Chin State, and Rakhine State. Although local administrations and armed organizations may possess such figures, they have generally not released them publicly.
Recently, ISP-Myanmar, an independent research organization, published a report estimating that more than 6.7 million students were enrolled for the 2026–2027 academic year, while approximately 6.3 million school-age children remained unenrolled.
Using enrollment figures from the 2019–2020 academic year as a baseline, ISP-Myanmar estimated that, had Myanmar avoided civil war, armed conflict, and political crisis, around 14 million students would have been enrolled this year. Based on that projection, the report concludes that approximately 6.3 million children are currently out of school.
Looking at enrollment trends from 2019–2020 through 2026–2027, the lowest enrollment occurred during the 2021–2022 academic year, when the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the military coup, reducing enrollment to 5.3 million students. Enrollment recovered somewhat, reaching its highest post-pandemic level during the 2023–2024 academic year.
However, following Operation 1027, launched in late 2023, the junta lost substantial territory. As a result, school enrollment has remained below seven million since the 2024–2025 academic year.
ISP-Myanmar’s estimate of more than 6.3 million children outside formal education should also be viewed alongside enrollment in interim education systems. Data indicate that, during the 2023–2024 through 2025–2026 academic years, the combined number of students studying in liberated areas and through online interim education averaged only slightly over one million.
This figure includes students in education systems operated under:
- the National Unity Government (NUG),
- KNU/KNLA-controlled areas,
- the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA/Kokang),
- Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA),
- the New Mon State Party (NMSP),
- the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), and
- the Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC).
Combined, these systems educate only a little over one million students.
Based on these figures, it can reasonably be concluded that more than five million primary and secondary school students remain outside classrooms. A relatively small number are studying abroad or in neighboring countries, while others have accompanied their families without access to education. The overwhelming majority, however, are simply out of school.
As Myanmar’s Spring Revolution enters its sixth year, an increasingly urgent challenge is emerging: millions of children and adolescents have experienced prolonged interruptions to their education, with many spending years outside the formal school system. The question of how these young people can eventually be reintegrated into education is becoming one that responsible institutions and policymakers can no longer postpone.