Still, at these schools the villagers must strain to stand on their own feet so that their children can attend. They must take care of school buildings construction and teachers' support. The teachers at these schools are arranged for and sent by the authorities however they don't lift a finger to provide the teachers' salaries and travel allowances, as is meant to be the case. A few schools try to set aside time to teach Karen language and literacy. Generally there is no teaching of Karen literacy, as the central Education Ministry does not encourage it.
Most people are illiterate in Karen language.
We can see that it is not because of weak parental effort that children are not attending, but rather because of the many obstacles they must face in their lives. Military Activities From the latter part of 1999 until the present, government troops and their allies expanded their area of control. They frequently mobilise, so only a few remote villages are still reasonably secure. They have pushed into this area primarily to extract the remaining stands of teak and other timber resources. If they have entirely stripped the timber from this area then they will further expand their control to the next.