Asia and the Pacific Education for All (EFA) mid-decade assessment ...

education, with measures to increase regular attendance and reduce drop-out rates. The state
must also make special arrangements to offer literacy classes to those children who are unable to
attend state schools. In collaboration with UN agencies and NGOs, in 1993 Myanmar drafted its
first EFA National Plan of Action (NPA).
In the early 1990s, Buddhist teachings were incorporated into the school curriculum as Moral and
Civic Education. After 1999/2000, the state curriculum was introduced into monastic education,
and by 2001, approximately 1,000 monastic schools were registered, with a total enrolment of
146,000 students out of a total of approximately 5 million (Ministry of Religious Affairs, 2001).
In addition to the registered monasteries receiving state support, there are hundreds of communitysupported
monasteries providing education to an un docu mented number of students. At first,
monastic schools were only permitted to teach up to primary level but later were allowed to teach
through lower secondary level. Monastic school students can join state schools. Monastic schools
of certain “national races” also offer their students the opportunity to study in their own languages
(Cheesman, 2003: 58).
Like other developing countries, while significant strides have been made in educational policy,
Myanmar also faces some challenges in meeting its educational sector goals. First, the limitation
on expansion of education budget delays improvement in the quality of education. The monastic
schools in rural areas attract the children from poor families to pursue education, and through
these schools, education reaches the populace even in poor and remote communities.
A second challenge is to reach disadvantaged ethnic groups, particularly those living in remote
regions and areas of armed conflict. In 1999, of the 750,000 children who dropped out of primary
education cycle, 630,000 were rural students, and the lowest enrolments for primary level age
groups were in states where high proportions of the population are national groups (UNICEF,
1999). Moreover, some children of the national groups in the areas of armed conflict had difficulty
in accessing schools because of the unfavourable security situation. Myanmar is now implementing
border area development programmes, including in the educa tion sector. Another barrier to
education for national groups is language. However, languages of the “national races” are sometimes
used in non-formal educational settings although “Myanmar language” (Burmese) is the language
of instruction in state schools. Recruitment of teachers from national groups for assignment in
their locality and implementation of the Myanmar Language Enrichment Programme for children
of national groups lessen the language difficulty.
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The third challenge is to overcome gender disparities, although significant pro gress has been made.
The 1983 census showed literacy rates of 82% for men and 71% for women, but by 2004, according
to UIS estimates, the literacy rate for adults (15+) was 94% for males and 86% for females; for
youths (15-24) the rate was 96% for males and 93% for females. National statistics should be able to
indicate any significance of sub-national variations in girl’s and women’s educational attainment.
For example, the 1983 census showed literacy rates of 86% for males and 77% for females in the
predominantly ethnically Burman divisions, compared to 65% and 50%, respectively, in the states
of the “national races”.
3.3.2 Cambodia
One of the legacies of the colonial period in Cambodia was a fragmented educational system
comprising Franco-Cambodian schools serving a small segment of the urban popu la tion
and monastery schools serving the rural majority. In addition, separate schools for Vietnamese
and Chinese communities were still operating. In order to unify the educational system after
independence in 1954, Sihanouk (then King, later Prime Minister) began to develop a national
educational policy. One of his primary goals was to train Cambodian nationals to fill posts in the
civil service previously occupied by the French (Clayton, 1998). All schools were brought under the
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, which developed syllabi, provided funding for teacher
salaries and supplies, and undertook school inspections (Ross, 1987).