Myanmar National Education Law (), enacted on 30 September 2014, is designed to reform the country's outdated education system. Drafted in March 2014, the bill was passed after being sent back to the floor by President Thein Sein with 25 proposed changes, 19 of which were accepted. From the beginning of its drafting process, the law faced criticism from students and teachers unions as well as various civil society groups. Concerns over the law later turned into protests, which were eventually cracked down by the government.
National Education Law 2014
Section 1 includes definition of terms used in the law.
As laid out in Section 2, the main objectives of the law are to train students to become critical thinkers; to nurture students to become law-abiding citizens with democratic principles; to enable students to become citizens who could pass down their ethnic languages, traditions, literature and to value historical heritage and environmental sustainability; to enhance human resources in preparation for economic development and higher standards of living; to provide a learning environment that is up to date with international standards and to improve teaching, learning and research by using technology information and communication information; to help students excel in their own fields of interest; and to promote sportsmanship and school health projects.
Section 3 of the law covers the fundamental policies of the law that include providing education for students with disabilities; providing education relevant to the lives of the students; and granting autonomy of colleges and universities.
Section 4 outlines the formation of National Education Commission that will consist of ministers from related sectors, experts from nationality groups and relevant individuals. The duties of the committee include providing guidelines on implementation of the objectives and the policies of the law; setting policies to ensure the quality of education; working with the government and local administration to get funding for the education sector; making policies regarding shutting down or opening of domestic as well as international schools; and working with relevant departments and ministries on short-term and long-term educational goals. Article 7 of the Section 4 also states that the commission should not interfere with the management of institutions of higher education but only assist with policy-related issues for their development.
Section 5 states that public education will be divided into primary education, vocational education and higher education. The section also talks about formal and informal education as well as self-learning education.
Section 6 covers the different types of schools that include public schools, private schools, monastic schools, volunteer schools, regional schools, government-funded schools, special schools and emergency mobile schools.
Section 7 is about curriculum and it states that National Education Commission has to ensure curriculums used in the country have boundaries and standards and guarantee autonomy of curriculum formations if it meets these standards. Ministry of Education will set the standards of National Education Curriculum with approval from the commission. Schools can teach in either Burmese or English or both languages and if necessary, an ethnic language and Burmese can be used in primary education. It also mentions that in States and Regions, ethnic language and literature program can be implemented through state and regional governments starting from elementary level and upgraded step by step.
Section 8 details educational duties and benefits and explain the roles of parent(s) or guardian(s) and local and regional administration.
Section 9 focuses on requirements for and quality of teachers.
Section 10 covers monitoring and accessing the education quality and states that in every level of education there must be a quality assessment scheme.
Section 11 is on management and administrative duties of education. In Article 56 (a), it states the Ministry of Education, relevant ministries and Higher Education Committee will work together to manage related institutions of higher education based on this law and existing laws.
Section 12 covers budget and Section 13, Article 66 states that existing schools before the implementation of the law must operate according to the law by five years of its enactment. Section 14 covers more general issues including that the law does not govern schools that only teach religion.
Background In March 2014, Education Promotion and Implementation Committee (EPIC) drafted the National Education Bill, which went through both houses of Hluttaw on July 30, 2014. While the bill was waiting for the approval from President, students and teachers unions as well as the civil society groups raised concerns over whether the bill was drafted democratically. They claimed that even though the government held meetings to seek advice from the public, it ignored their recommendations. Thein Sein sent back the bill to the parliament with some 25 proposed changes. On September 26, the parliament accepted 19 of the proposed changes but denied 6 one of which is to delay the full implementation of the law to 2027 and it became enacted on September 30. The next step is for Hluttaw to pass by-laws in the coming months to supplement the enacted law.
Controversy Opponents of the law claimed that the government didn't seek advice from the students adequately. They were also unsatisfied that minority ethnic languages would not be taught at institutes of higher education. They also stated that under the new law, universities would not be independent from Ministry of Education and most of all, they point out that the law will not recognize the formation of student and teacher unions.
On the other hand, members of Hluttaw responded that institutions of higher education would remain independent from central control. Khin Maung Yi, the secretary of the Joint Bill Committee, asserted that universities would have autonomy over creating their own policies. He also accused that protesters had "little understanding" of law. Yin Yin Nwe, a member of the President Education Advisory Group, remarked that complete decentralization of education would be impossible. The advisory group also stated that government committees that would be established as mentioned in the law were not designed to control universities but just to allocate budget.
The National League for Democracy, the main opposition party led by Aung San Su Kyi, was rather silent on the issue. In fact, the party distanced itself from the student protests stating explicitly that they would not follow National Network for Education Reform and did not endorse its criticism of the law (behind the student protests). Moreover, Phyo Min Thein, one the NLD's Pyithu Hluttaw Representatives, said that the current law was "practical" given the political constraints.
Main Opponents of the Law
National Network for Education Reform NNER is one of the most vocal opponents of the national education bill since its drafting stage. It is a coalition of civil society groups that include student unions, teacher unions, ethnic education groups, faith-based education groups, disabled education groups, community-based education groups, alternative education groups, education branches of political organisations, scholars and interested persons. It was formed in 2012 and had held several discussions across the country to seek opinions from the public on the current education reform process and in June 2013, it held a nationwide conference, attended by 1200 participants. During the drafting process of national education bill, NNER met with several government representatives and was even invited to meetings held in Naypyidaw. However, later it was left out from the discussion on the crafting of the bill.
Student and Teacher Unions The two most eminent student unions involved in opposing the education law are All Burma Federation of Student Unions and Confederation of University Student Unions and Middle Myanmar Student Unions. These organizations are also the major force behind the student protests against the law.
MTF (Myanmar Teachers Federation), a nationwide teacher union, is also one of the major opponents of the bill. It released a statement on September 15, 2014, to publicly assert their position on the issue:
We would like to announce to the people that we strongly believe that the National Education Law will affect not only the education sector but [also] the entire country and the people. Therefore, the Myanmar Teachers Federation will fully cooperate with the student unions across the country who are pushing for the education reform that will benefit the country.
In the same statement, MTF also criticized the government for investigating the students' protests against the law and called for the drop of criminal charges.
Student protests Initial Protest: May 2014 - Sept 2014 The earliest protests against the National Education Law came even before the passage of the bill. In Mandalay Region, students at colleges and universities had held ongoing protests since May 2014. The protests were, however, postponed in early September due to upcoming exams but the students continued holding public talks to voice why they opposed the bill. Initially, protesters also linked their campaigns against the bill to the arrest of an ABFSU member, Phyu Hnin Htwe, charged for allegedly kidnapping two Chinese workers from Letpadaung Copper Mine. Government authorities also initiated criminal investigations against these protests based on the ground that they were held without prior government approval.
Emergency Student Meeting: October – 13 Nov 2014
On 4 October 2014, three days after the law was enacted, an organizing committee was formed composed of 10 members of ABFSU and 10 members of CUSU. On 10 October, ABFSU announced that they would be holding an emergency meeting with student representatives from across the country in November. The plan was to have a two-day meeting to discuss about the National Education Law on the first day and then make plans on how to proceed on the next day. Later, the meeting was held in Yangon from November 12 to 13, which concluded with the formation of Action Committee for Democratic Education - 15-person group that consists of members of ABFSU, CUSU and MMSU - in charge of planning the four-day protest in Yangon.
The Four-Day March: Nov 14–17 2014
On November 14, about 350 students gathered in front of Maha Bandula Park in downtown Yangon to stage a protest against the National Education Law. The students also later held subsequent protests at Yangon University and Shwedagon Pagoda. Moreover, Kyaw Ko Ko, the chairman of ABFSU, declared that the protest was just the beginning of the fight to reform National Education Law. He also stated that the main concern against the NEL is the formation of a National Education Commission composed of ministers and government officials that could limit students' opinions and further reinforce the government control over higher education. The protest also coincided with United States President Barack Obama's second visit to Yangon although Kyaw Ko Ko claimed that it was not intentional. He added, though, that the students would be ready to seize the opportunity to raise awareness about issues on education. The Action Committee for Democratic Education then requested the government to convene a quadripartite meeting with its members, NNER, members of Parliament and the government to discuss the students' concerns. On 17 November, the students announced a 60-day interval for the government to respond to their demands and also threatened that they would stage a nationwide protests if the government didn't respond within the deadline.
60 day Ultimatum: Nov 18, 20 14– Jan 20, 2015