"MAE SOT, Thailand — During decades of civil war against the government, ethnic groups in Burma didn?t just build armies; they also built education systems, which today continue to operate schools that focus on ethnic histories, languages and cultures. One of the most developed of these systems is in Karen State, where the Karen Education Department (KED) operates more than 1,200 schools. During a recent visit to Mae Sot, a Thai town near the border with Karen State, KED secretary Saw Law Eh Moo told The Irrawaddy what it was like to run schools in a war zone and how things have changed—or not—since a ceasefire deal was signed in 2012."