NAYPYIDAW, 24 May, 2021, (TON): Over 125,000 school teachers have been suspended by the military authorities for joining a civil disobedience movement to oppose the military coup in February, said an official of the Myanmar Teachers’ Federation.

The teachers were suspended days before the start of a new school year. Some of the teachers and parents are boycotting new school year as part of the campaign that has paralyzed the country since the coup cut short a decade of democratic reforms.

According to the official from the teachers’ federation a total of 125,900 school teachers had been suspended, who declined to give his name for fear of reprisals.

According to the most recent data, from two years ago Myanmar had 430,000 school teachers.

“These are just statements to threaten people to come back to work. If they actually fire this many people, the whole system will stop,” said the official, who is also a teacher.

Around 19,500 university staff has also been suspended, according to the teachers’ group.

After Myanmar’s military seized power in the first week of February, the mass of Myanmar’s younger generation, teachers, factory workers and different groups of civilians are protesting against the coup since the February 1^st coup.