Education in Myanmar

Education in Myanmar
Ministry of Education
Union MinisterDr Nyunt Pe
National education budget (2014-15)
Budget~US$1152 million[1]
General details
Primary languagesBurmese, English
System typeNational
Established1910
Literacy (2014)
Total89.5%[2]
Male92.6%[2]
Female86.9%[2]
Enrollment
Total17,606,223[3]
Primary4,766,806[3]
Secondary6,194,851[3]
Post secondary4,831,624[3]

The educational system of Myanmar (also known as Burma) is operated by the government Ministry of Education. Universities and professional institutes from upper Burma and lower Burma are run by two separate entities, the Departments of Higher Education (Lower Burma and Upper Burma), whose office headquarters are in Yangon and Mandalay respectively. The modern education system is based on the system implemented during British rule in Burma. "The first Government high school was founded by the British colonial administration in 1874. Two years later, this Government High School was upgraded and became University College, Rangoon."[4] Nearly all schools are government-operated, but recently, there has been an increase in privately funded schools (which specialise in English). In Myanmar, schooling is compulsory until the end of elementary school, probably about nine years old. However the international standard for schooling is 15 to 16 years old.

The literacy rate of Myanmar, according to the 2014 Myanmar Census stands at 89.5% (males: 92.6%, females: 86.9%).[2] The annual budget allocated to education by the government is low; only about 1.2% is spent per year on education. English is taught as a second language from kindergarten.

In pre-colonial Burma, the Sangha was the primary educational institution, was a widespread system of decentralised and local monastic schools, supported economically by local residents and politically by the king.[5] Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, there were also mission schools established by Catholic and Protestant orders, particularly in highland areas.

Most of the early British mission schools were established after 1860 (such as La Salle schools) in Myanmar were nationalised on 1 April 1965 after the order restoration of general Ne Win.[6][7]

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI)[8] finds that Myanmar is fulfilling only 84.3% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to education based on the country's level of income.[9] HRMI breaks down the right to education by looking at the rights to both primary education and secondary education. While taking into consideration Myanmar's income level, the nation is achieving 96.7% of what should be possible based on its resources (income) for primary education but only 71.9% for secondary education.[9]

  1. ^ "Military spending still dwarfs education and health". 30 March 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d The Union Report: Census Report Volume 2. The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census. Nay Pyi Taw: Ministry of Immigration and Population. 2015. p. 12.
  3. ^ a b c d "Myanmar". 27 November 2016.
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference cheesman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Thet Ko Ko (2020). "The Day Myanmar's Socialist Govt Nationalized Missionary and Private Schools".
  7. ^ Eh Htoo, Saw; Waters, Tony (2024). General Ne Win's Legacy of Burmanization in Myanmar. doi:10.1007/978-981-97-1270-0. ISBN 978-981-97-1269-4.
  8. ^ "Human Rights Measurement Initiative – The first global initiative to track the human rights performance of countries". humanrightsmeasurement.org. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Myanmar - HRMI Rights Tracker". rightstracker.org. Retrieved 26 March 2022.