Myanmar military chief launches ‘Youth Training Schools’ amid fears of indoctrination

In his first major act as Myanmar’s commander-in-chief, Ye Win Oo announced the establishment of 13 “Youth Education Training Schools” in Yangon and Naypyidaw, as well as other states and regions.

Slated to open in June for the 2026–27 academic year, the academies are ostensibly designed to educate teenagers, but critics and parents fear they are a thinly veiled mechanism for military indoctrination and forced conscription.

According to a May 1 recruitment letter published in regime media by the Directorate of Public Relations and Psychological Warfare, applicants must be single males under the age of 19.

“The schools will not only nurture future generations for national defence, but also produce strong human resources for the military,” Ye Win Oo told a gathering of military families in Naypyidaw on May 8.

He detailed that the military-supported schools will offer a high school-level education, with graduates eligible to matriculate into military universities, medical training programs, and sergeant-major/clerk courses.

Fears of child conscription

Despite earlier regime media reports that omitted gender requirements, the restriction to young, single males aged 15-19 has alarmed the public.

“I’m worried that the military will indoctrinate children at the schools and force them into military service,” a parent told DVB on the condition of anonymity.

A source close to the military revealed that the initiative was originally intended exclusively for the children of serving, retired, and deceased military personnel.

However, the regime in Naypyidaw later altered the plan, opening enrolment to students from any background in an effort to boost recruitment numbers.

The source told DVB that the regime initially planned to open School No. 1 and School No. 2 in Yangon and Naypyidaw. It later expanded the program on May 3 by opening Schools No. 3 to No. 13 in Bago Region’s Taungoo, Mandalay Region’s Meiktila, Tanintharyi Region’s Myeik, Ayeyarwady Region’s Pathein, Sagaing Region’s Monywa, Mon State’s Mawlamyine, Kachin State’s Myitkyina, Arakan State’s Sittwe, and Shan State’s Aungban, Lashio, and Kengtung.

The rise of the “spymaster”

The youth education initiative is being closely watched as it marks the first major policy rollout for Ye Win Oo, who was appointed as the military’s ninth commander-in-chief on March 30 by Min Aung Hlaing.

This elevation paved the way for Min Aung Hlaing to be inaugurated as president by a pro-military parliament on April 10.

Sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department since February 2021, Ye Win Oo has been widely known as the “eyes and ears” of the regime in Naypyidaw since the coup.

He previously served as the Chief of the Myanmar Army, the head of the Military Security Affairs Corps, and the chief executive officer of the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC).

According to the Myanmar Defence & Security Institute (MDSI)—a group of former soldiers who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)—Ye Win Oo’s appointment is deeply unprecedented.

It marks the first time in Myanmar’s history that a “spymaster” has risen to the military’s top post.

Furthermore, he is the first graduate of the Officers Training School (OTS) to supersede alumni from the elite Defence Services Academy (DSA) for the role since former dictator Than Shwe.

MDSI researcher Naung Yoe noted that Ye Win Oo’s background strictly in intelligence gathering, combined with a total lack of battlefield experience, has already sparked significant “dissatisfaction” within the military’s upper echelon.

Psychological warfare department

The rollout of the new schools also comes amid an internal purge within the department tasked with managing them.

Ye Win Oo originally unveiled the education plan at the 79th-anniversary ceremony of the Directorate of Public Relations and Psychological Warfare on April 8.

Just weeks prior, on March 25, the department’s high-profile director, Zaw Min Tun—who had served as the regime’s primary mouthpiece since the 2021 coup—was abruptly dismissed.

Zaw Min Tun has been replaced by his deputy, Ye Yint Aung, and is currently facing a court-martial for “abuse of power and corruption.”

Regime media has remained entirely silent on his trial since his dismissal.