U Ye Tun, executive director of Horizon, said in a statement, that there was confusion in the use of the word ‘School’ which implied that the education institution was teaching a curriculum based on the Myanmar education system.
Speaking on behalf of the school administration board, he said that since Horizon schools are not teaching local subjects but preparing students for the international syllabus – like Cambridge primary, secondary, IGCSE and IB diploma programs – they cannot have the word ‘School’ in their brand name.
According to the Private School Registration Act, all institutions that have ‘School’ in their names, must teach the syllabus set by the MOE.
State-owned media, in a report during the last week of April, said that all Horizon International Schools were not complying with the regulations stipulated under the Private School Registration Act and that action was being taken against the school administrators.
Horizon International Schools were temporarily shut down as a result until a name change is made.
U Ye Tun said that the schools will be reopened soon and new names will be assigned to the various branches that are in several cities.
The school authority informed the parents of students that there was a misunderstanding in interpreting the Private School Registration Act, the statement said.
The statement also said that Horizon has explained to the MOE that their schools follow international standards of education and the Private School Registration Act does not apply to them as they do not have classes that teach the Myanmar syllabus.
The MOE had notified respective township police stations at the end of last month to take action against the Horizon International Schools.
U Aung Kyaw San, an official from Horizon, said, “We will solve the issue according to legal means.”
An official from the MOE said, “The decision was made at a national level meeting. According to this meeting, our ministry directed the regional and state authorities to take action against Horizon International Schools under the Private School Registration Act which does not apply to international schools. I don’t know exactly what happened.”
Horizon International Schools were established in the year 2000 and there are six schools in three cities.
The three Horizon schools in Yangon will now be changed to Shu Khinn Thar International College, Bahan International Science Academy and Bahan International Kindergarten.
Horizon schools in Mandalay will be renamed Mandalay International Science Academy and Mandalay International Kindergarten.
The school in Nay Pyi Taw will be changed to Nay Pyi Taw International Kindergarten.
Source: MM Times
