How Myanmar's Higher Education System Has Operated Since the 2021 Coup
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 07, 2026 • Study in Southeast Asia
Myanmar's public universities shut after the February 2021 coup, reopened under military direction from January 2022, and still enroll a fraction of pre-coup numbers because many staff and students refuse to return.
An estimated 50 to 65 percent of teaching staff in some states and regions joined the Civil Disobedience Movement and stayed out of junta-run classrooms.
The junta suspended more than 11,000 academic staff for CDM participation.
Only 24,243 students enrolled across 47 reopened universities in the 2023-24 academic year.
📩 About 22% of students who passed the entrance exam actually enrolled in 2023-24, against close to 90% before the coup.
Closures after the coup
The military seized power on February 1, 2021. University staff and students joined nationwide protests and the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), a mass boycott of institutions under military control. Public universities across Myanmar stopped functioning for most of 2021, and the junta reopened them under its own direction only from January 2022, according to Tea Circle Myanmar .
Staff losses from the Civil Disobedience Movement
An estimated 50 to 65 percent of teaching staff in some states and regions joined the CDM rather than return to junta-run classrooms, according to New Mandala . The military responded by suspending more than 11,000 academic staffers, part of a wider crackdown that suspended around 125,000 teachers and professors across the education system, according to Radio Free Asia . Many suspended lecturers now teach privately, work part time at private universities, or rely on CDM support networks to get by.
Enrollment has collapsed
| Academic year | Enrolled | Share of exam-passers who enrolled |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 (pre-coup) | 260,173 | about 90% |
| 2023-24 | 24,243 across 47 reopened universities | about 22% |
University student numbers dropped more than 90% since the coup, according to Radio Free Asia . In the 2022-23 academic year, 161,850 students sat the entrance exam and 109,851 passed, yet by 2023-24 only 24,243 students had enrolled across all 47 reopened universities combined, meaning most students who qualify for a place still do not take it.
Why students who pass still do not enroll
Distrust of junta-run institutions keeps many CDM-aligned students away even after they clear the entrance exam. Displacement, conscription risk, financial hardship and safety concerns around travel to campus add further reasons for families to hold their children back from junta universities, a pattern documented by Harvard's International Human Rights Clinic .
Access varies sharply by region
Universities in areas with active fighting, including parts of Sagaing, Kayah, Chin and Kayin, have stayed closed or run at minimal capacity. Campuses in Yangon, Mandalay and other cities under firmer military control have resumed teaching, though with far smaller student bodies than before 2021, per assessment from University World News .
What this means if you are weighing your options
Check the current operating status of the specific university and department you want, since campuses in the same country range from fully closed to functioning close to normal. If a junta-run credential matters less to you than staying connected to teaching, look at the interim, private and online alternatives covered in related guides on this site. Where safety and conscription risk factor into your decision, weigh them alongside academic considerations before committing to a specific campus.