A small group of Myitkyina University students on Tuesday staged a rally in the Kachin regional capital in solidarity with student protests across the country opposing the National Education Law.

“Our demands include a ‘democratic’ education, the freedom to form student unions, an increase in the education budget, a mother language-based schooling system, and the decentralisation of decision-making power over educational policies,” said Hseng Nu Pan, a protest organiser.

She said that around 400 students were supposed to take part in the protest but only a handful turned up in the end due to pressure from university lecturers and local authorities.

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The protestors marched from the University of Myitkyina to the nearby Computer University where they said they planned to rally other students to join in. However, they were unable to get inside the campus as the gates were locked shut.

She called on lecturers and teachers to join in the demonstrations, saying the protestors are calling not only for the rights of students but for teachers too.