"The ministry has scheduled schools to start on July 21, beginning with high schools and followed by primary and middle schools two weeks later. U Nay Oke, chair of the Myanmar Private Schools Federation, said private schools need more classrooms to ensure that students stay at least six feet away from each other. According to law, only rooms registered with the ministry are allowed to be used as classrooms, so private schools sought permission to add more classrooms. “The minister approved our proposal to use other buildings on the same street or adjacent to the schools as classrooms,” U Nay Oke said. However, the ministry has not yet decided whether to allow private boarding schools to reopen in July, he said. U Nay Oke said private schools have to comply with more rules to reopen than government schools, so he called on education officials to impose the same rules for both. The rules for private schools require listing the travel history of students and their family members in the past month, the address of each student, and the people with whom they have had contact. It also urged the ministry to allow schools to use online teaching as well as classroom teaching. Some private schools have been teaching their students online since May. But State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has rejected online teaching, saying Myanmar is not ready for it because it lacks the necessary infrastructure. “Some students in those countries oppose learning online,” she said in an online meeting with education officials and parents on May 19. She said education is not just about passing examinations, but also about socialising and teamwork, which only classroom learning can provide..."