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Means
of Instruction, Equipment and Infrastructure
The
provision of primary schools is the responsibility
of individual communities and private donors.
There is little assistance, if any, from the
Government. Therefore, school buildings provided
by the communities lacking experience and resources
are mostly inadequately constructed with local
non-durable and inferior materials, such as tree-trunk
posts, bamboo, dani (local made material for
roofing) and palm leaf for walls and roof. A
survey carried out within the framework of Education
Sector Study (MERB, A comprehensive survey of
education facilities, 1992), indicated that almost
half of all primary schools are built of such
materials. Similarly, furniture is inappropriate
in terms of design and construction. In particular,
the survey indicated that some 57% of all primary
schools offered a poor learning environment.
The tables below summarize the major findings:
School
buildings by construction type, condition
of materials and by type of school
| Type of school |
Percentage of school buildings by |
Construction type |
Condition of materials |
R.C.
|
B.
|
B.N.
|
T
|
O
|
G
|
F
|
P
|
| Primary
school |
0 |
1.0 |
14.1 |
36.8 |
48.1 |
21.6 |
54.1 |
24.3 |
| Middle school |
0 |
4.7 |
40.7 |
29.6 |
25.0 |
34.9 |
47.1 |
18.0 |
| High school |
0 |
10.8 |
10.8 |
22.7 |
17.1 |
51.6 |
35.2 |
13.2 |
| Source: MERB,
1992; (R.C. = Reinforced concrete;
B = Brick; B.N. = Brick Nogging; T
= Timber; O =
Other; G = good; F = fair; P = poor). |
Distribution of classrooms by number of students/class
| Type of school |
Percentage of classrooms for no. of students/class in ranges |
Mean |
| < 34 |
35 – 46 |
47 – 58 |
>58 |
| Primary |
46.7 |
20.7 |
10.8 |
21.6 |
45.8 |
| Middle |
31.0 |
35.3 |
22.7 |
11.0 |
43.5 |
| High |
11.6 |
30.2 |
36.2 |
22.2 |
49.9 |
| Source: MERB, 1992. |
Distribution of schools by level of adequacy and condition of furniture in classrooms
| Type
of School
|
Percentage
of schools by |
| Level
of adequacy of furniture in the classrooms |
Condition
of furniture in the classrooms |
| Fully |
Mostly |
Moderately |
Poorly |
Good |
Fair |
Poor |
| Primary
school |
14.6 |
3.8 |
10.2 |
71.3 |
17.2 |
71.3 |
11.5 |
Middle
school |
29.4 |
15.7 |
11.8 |
43.1 |
19.6 |
76.5 |
3.9 |
High
school |
40.8 |
20.4 |
10.2 |
28.6 |
22.4 |
77.6 |
-- |
| Source: MERB,
1992. |
Distribution
of schools by level of adequacy and condition
of furniture in classroom,
and
by type of educational level
| Type
of School
|
Percentage
of schools by |
| Level
of adequacy of furniture in the classrooms |
Condition
of furniture in the classrooms |
| Fully |
Mostly |
Moderately |
Poorly |
Good |
Fair |
Poor |
| Primary |
18.5 |
5.6 |
8.0 |
67.9 |
17.7 |
74.3 |
8.0 |
Lower
Secondary |
65.3 |
18.8 |
3.0 |
12.9 |
16.8 |
81.2 |
2.0 |
Upper
Secondary |
58.8 |
11.8 |
7.8 |
21.6 |
29.5 |
70.5 |
-- |
| Source: MERB,
1992. |
The
Textbook Committee prepared all the textbooks
for basic education. As the process was highly
centralized, the same set of textbooks is used
throughout the whole country. The Department
of Basic Education takes the responsibility
of printing the textbooks. Generally, news-print
papers are used in printing textbooks. Due
to scarcity of resources and delay process,
textbooks printing took a long process. The
students have to buy textbooks at the government’s
subsidized price. Government Employee’s
co-operatives purchased the textbooks from
the Department of Basic Education Textbook
Distribution Committee for the respective townships.
The revenue that the Government Employee’s
co-operatives get from the distribution of
the textbooks to the students is used for the
welfare of the staff members of the co-operatives.
Even though priority was usually given to remote
townships, usually textbooks did not to get
to schools in time. The Department has to produce
twenty-two different kinds of textbooks for
the primary level; a set of textbooks costs
55–170 kyat, depending on the grade.
Apart from textbooks, the Department of Basic
Education provided some teaching and learning
materials to primary schools. But the number
of materials distributed was very limited. Pyin-nya-tazaung,
a parastatal educational organization issues
a monthly educational magazine with relevant
teaching aids for the primary school level. These
monthly issues are distributed to all primary
schools at a subsidized price.
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