CNI News

2 December 2025

Education staff serving in Banmauk Township, in the northern part of Sagaing Region, have not received their salaries and have been forced to borrow money from local business owners to cover their daily living expenses, according to sources.

A total of 338 education staff in Banmauk Township have not been paid and collectively borrowed 240 million kyats from local business owners.

It is learned from the staff that the borrowed amount is being distributed among the 338 currently serving staff by the Banmauk Township Deputy Township Education Officer and the Education Liaison Officers.

Regarding the unpaid salaries of staff in Banmauk Township and their need to borrow money from local business owners, staff members said that Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) Brigade 614 helped them coordinate access to the loans.

CNI contacted the Ministry of Education and the Sagaing Region Government regarding the situation of the 338 unpaid education staff and their borrowing of money from business owners in Banmauk, but as of today, no response has been received.

Education staff in Banmauk Township

Banmauk Town, including its southern, northern, and eastern areas, is currently controlled by a joint force of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), People’s Defence Forces (PDF), and Kadu armed groups.

KIA–PDF–Kadu joint forces launched an offensive attack on Banmauk on September 15, 2025, captured it on September 20, and have maintained control up to the present.

The Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) has been trying for more than two months to retake Banmauk but has been unsuccessful. The commander of the Northwestern Command, Maj-Gen Myo Min Htwe, has also been removed from his position.