About 300 student protesters wearing bandanas bearing a fighting peacock symbol remain surrounded by police armed with batons. The police have held the activists outside a monastery since Monday, in the town of Letpadan.
The authorities have promised to put a stop the activists' planned march to the city of Rangoon, the site of previous major student demonstrations.
Although the protest is illegal in the country, the students were given a deadline to cancel their demonstration.
Students have been protesting for months over a controversial education bill. According to them, the bill is undemocratic. The protestors urge Myanmar's government to make changes in the education system and give students the right to form unions and teach in ethnic minority languages.
