The military council has announced that all students from Mandalay, Sagaing, Kachin, and Naypyidaw regions must retake their university entrance examinations starting June 16 due to the destruction of answer sheets in the Sagaing earthquake. The examinations will be conducted over five days from June 16 to June 21. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck on March 28 caused severe damage to the main building of Mandalay University, followed by fires that destroyed examination materials.
The fire at Mandalay University’s main building resulted in the destruction of approximately 400,000 answer sheets from the 2024-2025 university entrance examinations. These included 280,940 answer sheets from 46,944 students in Mandalay Region, 43,827 answer sheets from 7,311 students in Sagaing Region, and 52,189 answer sheets from 8,699 students in Kachin State. The military council leader Min Aung Hlaing ordered the re-examination during his visit to Mandalay on March 29 after assessing the damage.
While basic education schools have been conducting two weeks of close-contact classes since May 1, most students are facing significant challenges in retaking the university entrance examinations due to earthquake damage to their homes and businesses. A parent from Zeyar Ward in Sagaing City expressed their difficulties, stating that both their home and business were destroyed in the earthquake. They mentioned that their daughter, who had taken the 10th-grade exam, is experiencing trauma from the earthquake, and the entire family is under stress due to the loss of their home and livelihood. The parent added that they are still staying at other people’s houses, making it extremely difficult to prepare for and retake the examinations under such circumstances.
