Burma Considers Private Education

The Burmese military government is considering allowing private education in the country starting in the academic year 2010-11, accordingly to Weekly Eleven, a popular Rangoon-based journal.

The report said that negotiations were currently underway within the Myanmar [Burmese] Ministry of Education with proposals to open enrollment for private schools next year.

Students heading to school in Rangoon. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

In fact, fee-paying schools already exist in Burma but under different guises. Many are boarding schools, international schools or monastic schools; but until now, the terms of their licenses and their names do not refer to "school" or "education." In addition, qualifications from such “institutions” are not accepted for entrance at government universities in Burma.

The Weekly Eleven report said that investors in private schools should ensure that they can acquire land and funds for the construction of school buildings, and are able to pay teachers and administrative bodies, and provide educational materials.

The curricula and syllabi of all private schools will be set by the Ministry of Education, the report said, and students must be registered to sit for exams through the Department of Myanmar Board of Examinations.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, Myint Zaw, an education researcher at Bangkok’s Mahidol University, said, “It is better for Burmese students to study at home than go abroad. But private schools may create a greater gap in education between rich and poor students and will become a big problem in the future.”

A middleclass businesswoman, whose his son is attending Naythu Rain, a boarding school in Mandalay, said, “We pay about US $2,000 per year and, in addition, give our son about $100 a month for pocket money.”

Accordingly to the Rangoon journal, private schools played a large role in Burmese society during the colonial administration until 1962 when Gen Ne Win staged a military coup.

The report went on to say that fee-paying boarding schools, such as Sarpan Ein in Pyin Oo Lwin Township, Soe San in Naypyidaw and ACA in Rangoon are among the institutes currently involved in negotiations with the Burmese authorities.

However, when contacted by The Irrawaddy, none of the above-mentioned institutes would comment on the issue.

May Nyein, formerly a senior lecturer at Dagon University in Rangoon, said, “If this new policy can be implemented it could offer great potential for the future of Burmese education. However, we need to closely monitor how the Burmese government cooperates with the interests of the private schools, and how divisive the opportunities become between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots.’”

An abbot at a monastic school in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that he agreed with the idea of the private school system if it can be implemented freely and orderly. “However, we need to watch how much control the Burmese junta exerts. Gen Ne Win’s socialist regime nationalized all private schools in 1962, but if we take the good lessons from the education system in India we can see the advantages. The authorities must ensure quality and beware of schools that bribe their way to get licenses and of official corruption.”

Since the current military regime seized power in 1988 every branch of Burma’s education system has been neglected, say observers. Private boarding schools with relatively high standards have sprung up all over the country and a degree of competition has evolved. However, such institutions are not recognized by the Ministry of Education; they receive their licenses through the Ministry of Commerce or municipal town halls.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, Sayar [Teacher] Sai, the director of the Migrant Learning Center in Chiang Mai, said, “I welcome this system and want to monitor what happens. I myself attended private school when I was young. There are many advantages to a private school system because we can choose the schools that we wish our children to attend, and owners and board members of private schools will do their best to attract parents and students.