Education

The junta spends 222% more on the military than it spends on education and health combined

Education Crisis

Burma currently faces an education crisis originating in the military regime's severe restriction of educational opportunities for the past forty years. Described 50 years ago as the "jewel of South East Asia," Burma won two awards from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for promoting literacy in the 1970s. However, by 1990, Burma was considered one of the poorest countries in the world with a rapidly deteriorating education system. Burma's education crisis has left a whole generation of young people without the knowledge and skills necessary to rebuild a country that has suffered so much. Political change is now urgent as young people find themselves not only starved for knowledge, but starved for a future as well.

Education Statistics

All social services, particularly health and education systems, have suffered terribly under the Burmese military dictatorship that has neglected social services in favour of military expenditure. Official figures for Burma placed literacy rates at 83% in 1999, yet some experts estimate them as closer to 30%, highlighting the poor quality of education in the country and the difficulty of obtaining education in the first place. A 1995 survey by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) found the following education statistics for Burma:

· 3 out of 10 children never even start school
· 40% of school aged children have never attended primary school
· 26% of parents cannot afford the cost of primary schooling for their children
· 60% of those who do start school are unable to finish at the primary level

Education Spending

The Burmese regime allocates limited funding and resources to the education sector, another important factor contributing to the education crisis. Education is a very important factor in the development of a country, and cannot be financially neglected. Nonetheless, the Burmese junta spends less than 1.2% of its Gross National Product (GNP) on education whilst Australia spends 7.7% of its GNP. According to United Nations (UN) statistics, the regime spends 222% more on military expenses than it does on health and education combined, spending only US $1.25 per person per year on both health and education. These figures may actually underestimate military spending, as the junta continually expands its army.

Results of Limited Spending

Poverty is the greatest barrier to accessing primary and secondary education in Burma, for cuts in government spending on education have caused an increase in the costs to families. Parents pay high educational costs as a series of taxes and donations to the education department, schools and teachers. Shortages of educational facilities and resources have contributed heavily to the downgrading of education in Burma. The small education expenditure leaves the generals in charge to pursue their own goals appearing to have little to do with Burma's long-term well-being. Indeed, the lack of educational opportunities reflects an official attitude that knowledge is a dangerous tool in the hands of the people.

Closure of Universities

Burma's military regime has enforced closure of all universities for most of the time since pro-democracy uprisings initiated by student demonstrations in 1988. Between 1998-2000, non-military universities were open for only three months per year. Since 2000, they were supposed to be re-opened, but professors are missing, budgets have been diminished considerably and corruption is frequent. This closure is an attempt to oppress students and teachers, for universities were once central to political discussion and activity. The junta enforces a submissive and unquestioning state of mind in an attempt to control the democratic opposition of students and teachers nationwide. A growing backlog of students now exists and presents a dilemma for the authorities. The junta has responded to this crisis with further closure of universities, thus exacerbating the problem.

ICFTU Education Report

A recent report released in August 2003 by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), "Growing up under the Burmese Dictatorship," documents the appalling state of Burma's education system and hardships facing teachers. Despite having no real external threats, the regime spends seven times more on the military than on education. More than half the children in Burma have to take fee-paying night courses to keep up, adding to the financial burden on already poor parents. Books are often not available, and only 17% of schools have safe drinking water and less than half have sanitary installations.

Hardships of Teachers

The report also details how Burma's education crisis results in severe hardships for teachers. Many teachers have to walk for up to three days to receive their meagre salaries from the authorities. They frequently have to leave the classroom to tend crops in order to feed their own families, since they must grow their own food and run private classes at night in order to survive. In addition, 35% of primary teachers in the country have no formal qualification.

ICFTU Commentary

According to ICFTU General Secretary Guy Ryder, "The Burmese dictatorship is responsible for lost generations of Burmese children and youth, denying them their human rights including their rights to a proper education and healthcare. The international community must redouble its efforts to bring democracy to the country, and to help equip Burmese youth to play their critically important role in building a just and sustainable economy and society for the future." With assistance from trade unions in other countries, the Federation of Trade Unions-Burma (FTUB) provides education and health care alongside other organisations working to alleviate the poverty and suffering of many millions of young Burmese and their families.

Questions

1. What is a UNESCO award, and why did Burma win two of them in the 1970s?

2. Why is education an important factor in the development of a country, especially in a country like Burma?

3. What is an education crisis, and why does Burma currently face one?

4. What policies could the Burmese regime have implemented to prevent the education crisis, and what policies can they now implement to resolve it?

5. How might Burma be different today without an education crisis?

6. Why has the military regime severely restricted educational opportunities for the past four decades?

7. What is the explanation behind Burma's education statistics, and what do they reveal about the country's education situation?

8. What are literacy rates, and why is there such a large discrepancy between the rates reported by the Burmese junta and outside sources?

9. Why does the regime allocate limited funding to the education sector, how does this contribute to the education crisis and how might Burma be different today with more education spending?

10. Why is the national budget so lopsided toward spending on the military in comparison to health and education spending, and what would be a more developmental budget?

11. What is Gross National Product (GNP), and why does the Burmese junta spends less than 1.2% of its GNP on education whilst Australia spends 7.7% of its GNP?

12. Why is poverty the greatest barrier to accessing primary and secondary education in Burma, and what policies and actions can the regime take to remove this barrier?

13. Why does the lack of educational opportunities in Burma reflect an official attitude that knowledge is a dangerous tool in the hands of the people?

14. Why has Burma's military regime enforced closure of all universities for most of the time since 1988, and what might have happened if they did not?

15. Why were universities once central to political discussion and activity in Burma?

16. Why has Burma's education crisis left a whole generation of young people without the knowledge and skills necessary to rebuild their country?

17. Why do Burma's young people find themselves not only starved for knowledge, but starved for a future as well?

18. What did the report released by the ICFTU, "Growing up under the Burmese Dictatorship", find?

19. How does Burma's education crisis result in severe hardships for teachers, and what policies and actions can the regime take to resolve this problem?

20. Why do many teachers frequently have to leave the classroom to tend crops?

21. Why do 35% of primary teachers in Burma have no formal qualification, how does this contribute to the education crisis and what policies and actions can the regime take to resolve this problem?

22. How is the Burmese dictatorship responsible for lost generations of Burmese children and youth?

23. How could Burmese youth be equipped to play their critically important role in building a just and sustainable economy and society for the future?

24. What does the Federation of Trade Unions-Burma (FTUB) do to alleviate the poverty and suffering of many millions of young Burmese and their families?

Activities

1. Complete an assignment on the background of UNESCO and their awards program, and Burma's winning two of them for promoting literacy in the 1970s.

2. Complete an assignment on the education crisis in Burma. Devise policies the Burmese regime could have implemented to prevent the education crisis, and policies they can now implement to resolve it. Devise counterfactual scenarios for how Burma might be different today without an education crisis. Compare and contrast the Burmese education crisis with that of another country, and education statistics and issues in your own country.

3. Complete an assignment on the causes and effects of the Burmese GNP allocations, and devise counterfactual GNP scenarios. Compare and contrast the Burmese GNP allocations with that of another country, and your own country.

4. Complete an assignment on how poverty is the greatest barrier to accessing primary and secondary education in Burma. Devise policies and actions the regime can take to remove this barrier.

5. Organise classroom discussion and debate representing both sides of the GNP allocations in Burma.

6. Complete an assignment on global education statistics and campaigns.

7. Complete an assignment on the closure of all universities in Burma for most of the time since 1988. Examine how universities are central to political discussion and activity in Burma and many other countries. Devise counterfactual scenarios for how Burma might be different today if the universities remained open.

8. Complete an assignment on the report released by the ICFTU, "Growing up under the Burmese Dictatorship.

9. Complete an assignment on how Burma's education crisis results in severe hardships for teachers. Devise policies and actions the regime can take to resolve this problem. Devise counterfactual scenarios for how the education situation in Burma might be different today with better treatment of teachers.

10. Complete an assignment on the backgrounds, roles and actions of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the Federation of Trade Unions-Burma (FTUB).

Web Sites

For further information on the situation for education in Burma, please visit our Links Page

© Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA 2003.

Last Modified: Sunday, 22-Apr-2007 16:13:17 EST
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