Aizawl: Mizoram University (MZU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Chin Affairs in neighbouring Myanmar to facilitate academic collaboration, university officials said on Tuesday.
The MoU was signed by MZU Vice Chancellor Prof. Dibakar Chandra Deka and Mai Lucy Mawi, deputy executive director of the Institute of Chin Affairs.
The agreement outlines several areas of cooperation, including the introduction of a diploma course in spoken Burmese, admission of students from Myanmar to various MZU programmes, and joint research initiatives.
Officials said the partnership is expected to deepen academic ties, enhance cultural exchange, and create more opportunities for students to learn Burmese and participate in collaborative research.
Mizoram is currently home to more than 31,000 refugees from Myanmar, mostly from Chin state, and hundreds of refugee students are enrolled in schools across the state, officials added.
The Mizoram government has completed 65.82 percent of the biometric enrolment for refugees from Myanmar taking shelter in the state.
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The Myanmar nationals fled the country and are taking shelter in Mizoram after the military staged a coup d’état, abruptly curtailing the democratic transition of the country on February 1, 2021.
Many other refugees also took shelter in the border villages of Zokhawthar, Saikhumphai, and Vaiphai in Champhai district following an armed conflict between Chin rebel groups — the Chin National Defence Force and Chinland Defence Force.
The Myanmarese refugees from Chin State are ethnic cousins of the Mizos and are part of the Zo family.
