The government has been building a 21st century education system that will propel Myanmar to the rank of the upper-middle-income nations by 2030.
Myanmar kicked off the International Literacy Day 2017 by holding a ceremony at the Ministry of Education in Nay Pyi Taw on September 8, with the objectives of aiming to improve literacy rates across the country, provide a broad educational atmosphere to all citizens, and to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 — to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all by 2030”.
Education is a cornerstone of Myanmar’s development and plays a key role in the country’s democracy and peace-building process and in establishing a prosperous, dynamic economy. The government, therefore, has been building a 21st century education system that will propel Myanmar to the rank of the upper-middle-income nations by 2030.
Speaking at the ceremony, Union Minister for Education Dr Myo Thein Gyi said:
“As the theme of this year’s International Literacy Day is ‘Literacy in a Digital World’, the issue of literacy is crucial to live in a digitally mediated world, and for the implementation of non-formal education programs and life-long learning, including basic education in remote areas across the country. Promotion of quality education based on digital technology would enable a sustainable socio-economic development in the country.”
He continued, “As the nation has been moving forward to build a peaceful, prosperous and federal union system, inclusive and equitable quality education is essential for the development of regions and states.”
According to the 2014 census, the average adult literacy rate (15 years and above) was 89.52 percent (males: 92.6pc, females: 86.9pc) in 2014-15, with the baseline target being 93pc by 2021. The government has undertaken non-formal primary education programs in 47 townships in 2016-17 academic year, and these will be expanded to 81 townships by 2017-18. The government will continue its focus on improving literacy rates across the country.
The country currently has 46,467 schools (primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary) catering to 9.1 million children, and a total of 369,661 teachers, with a teacher-student ratio of one teacher for every 24 pupils.
The government has currently spent 1.9pc of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in education through the National Education Strategic Plan 2016-21. Consequently, increasing expenditure on education has so far resulted in a number of achievements, including the recruitment and training of more teachers, an expansion of free education, and improved infrastructure.
FACT SHEET: EDUCATION IN MYANMAR
EDUCATION will be a cornerstone of Myanmar’s development and is at the heart of the government’s reform agenda.
Education will support Myanmar’s democracy and peace-building process and help establish a prosperous, dynamic economy.
In channeling more resources into the sector, Myanmar has been building a 21st century education system that will propel Myanmar to the rank of the upper-middle-income nations by 2030.
National Education Strategic Plan 2016-21
The national education system will be reformed to ensure that all citizens achieve at least minimum national learning standards, learn how to think critically and creatively, and gain leadership skills that enable them to help others in their communities.
The National League for Democracy government has developed and issued the National Education Strategic Plan (NESP), which is the government’s roadmap for education reform.
Launched in February 2017, it is based on the fundamental principle that everyone has the right to learn.
A doubling of investment in education, increasing access to education and improving the standard of teaching have already led to achievements in education reforms.
The NESP’s overall goal is to improve student achievement through improved teaching and learning, vocational training, and research and innovation. It will be achieved through:
Equitable access to pre-school, primary, secondary, higher, and alternative education
Redesigning and launching new Basic Education curricula
Improved student examination systems
Greater investment in teacher education
Access to technical and vocational education and training
Strengthening the transformation of Higher Education
Capacity building for education managers
The NESP will be implemented through two distinct phases to ensure that reforms have a long-lasting impact on Myanmar’s education sector: Phase 1 (2016–21) and Phase 2 (2022-27).
The plan is the culmination of the Comprehensive Education Sector Review, an over three-year process led by the Ministry of Education (MoE).
Education Landscape
Myanmar currently has a total of 46,467 schools (primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary) catering to 9.1 million children. Myanmar has a total of 369,661 teachers, with a teacher-student ratio of one teacher for every 24 pupils.
The 2014 census revealed that one in five children between the ages of 10 and 17 – about 1.7 million young people – were working instead of attending school.
Initiatives like the free education program have led to significant improvement in enrolment across all levels of education, including an increase of around 807,000 children in basic education between 2011 and 2016. The government is committed to further improving enrolment rates through NESP reforms.
The average adult literacy rate (15 years and above) was 89.52 percent in 2014-15, with the baseline target being 93pc by 2021. The government continues its focus on improving literacy rates across the country. In 2016, the MoE Basic Literacy Program was implemented in Kayah State, Taunggyi district, Mrauk-U district, Kyauk Phyu district, Thandwe district and Yangon Region’s Hlaing Tharyar district.
Government Investment
Spending on education has been rising steadily since the government took office, accompanied by a sharp increase in support from foreign donors. The 1.9pc of GDP currently invested in education will double by 2021 through the NESP.
Over the last four years, government funding for the education sector has increased four-and-a-half times from K310,000 million in 2011-12 to K1,399,000 million in 2016-17.
Increased spending on education has so far resulted in a number of achievements, including the recruitment and training of more teachers, an expansion of free education, and improved infrastructure.
The MoE has appointed approximately 34,322 primary school teachers in the 2016-17 academic year and has opened a number of teacher education colleges.In 2016 and 2017, a total of 5755 new schools were constructed and 7543 existing schools were renovated.
Source: Myanmar Times
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