This year in Myanmar only 300,000 grade 11 students (aged 16-17 years) registered to sit the nationwide matriculation exam starting on 31 March 2022, far fewer than in previous years.

Already last year (the 2020 to 2021 academic year) there were far fewer students taking the matriculation exam because they had missed out on school due to COVID-19

This year the numbers have declined even further because of the coup and the subsequent political crisis.

The last time normal numbers of students took the matriculation exam was in the 2019 to 2020 academic year when 900,000 students sat the exam. This year 312,299 students have registered to sit the matriculation exam at 1,256 nationwide test centres and some foreign test centres, 65 per cent fewer students than took the exam in 2020.

The region where the most students have registered for the matriculation exam this year is Rakhine State, followed by Yangon and Mandalay in second and third spot. Only 780 students from Kayah (Karenni) State have registered for the exam this year.

In Myanmar, students have to pass the matriculation exam to enter state-owned universities and institutes. The better their score, the better the university they can attend.

The matriculation exams run from 31 March to 9 April, with a different subject being examined each day, except for Sunday 3 April.

This year junta troops will be providing tighter than normal security at the matriculation exam centres. Critics from the educational community believe that this year the exams will be easier to pass than normal and many students will pass.

There were some debates among students’ parents about whether their students should go to school or take an exam under an educational system administered by the military junta. Students, whose family members or parents participated in the civil disobedience movement (CDM), also protested by not sending their children to schools.

Most CDM participants believe that the environment in schools is not safe enough for students to attend.

But, refusing to go to school is not really a practical choice for working-class students as it could seriously damage their future prospects, according to some critics.

Currently, most of the schools in Sagaing and Magway regions and Chin State are unable to function properly.