Adult and Nonformal Education

There are limited opportunities for children outside the formal primary education system, particularly for the very poor. Monastic schools have existed for decades and were important educational centres before all schools were nationalized in the 1960s. Today, there are about 1,500 officially recognized monastic schools, serving an estimated 93,000 children.

Monastic schools serve those children whose families cannot afford the costs of education in public schools, although they are limited in their capacity, techniques and materials. It is unclear the degree to which children attending the monastic schools become functionally literate. Community schools also exist in those villages without access to a government-supported primary school. The Ministry of Education and some of the United Nations agencies have recognized the need for more alternatives, resulting a number of small non-formal education projects being piloted. A non-formal education project was conducted in six townships in the Bago and Mandalay Divisions during 1991–95 by the Ministry of Education and UNICEF, delivering teaching and learning packages. UNDP and UNESCO have also incorporated a component to strengthen non-formal education into the Primary Education for All project in the Shan State and the Delta and Dry Areas through establishing community learning centres in villages defined as having very limited access to formal education in project townships.

The Ministry of Education and the State and Division Peace and Development Councils are now working hand in hand to promote a literacy programme throughout the country through non-formal education. One of the Education For All (EFA) goals in Myanmar is the reduction of adult illiteracy rate to at least half of 1990 level through non-formal education (22% to 11% by the year 2000). The operational plan for the implementation of literacy promotion activities contemplated the following targets:

• 1996–1997: 30 townships
• 1997–1998: 80 townships
• 1998–1999: 100 townships
• 1999–2000: 114 townships
• 2000–2001: Total completion

In order to translate that plan into reality, a Committee for EFA and the implementation of non-formal education has been established. Phase by phase literacy improvement activities, number of learners, instructors, learning circles, and implementing townships are showed in the table below:

Teaching and learning materials produced for non-formal education are as follows:

In order to consolidate the progress in the literacy rate since 1990, many activities with an emphasis on self-sustainability have been designed. Under the guidance of the EFA Central Co-ordinating Committee, a number of local township and village Non-formal Education (NFE) Committees have launched learning circles. There are now 10,234 learning circles for 158,238 neo-literate in 98 townships. These activities were carried out by local volunteer teachers using basic learning materials produced by MERB—the focal centre for NFE in Myanmar. The most successful follow-up programmes have been conducted in the Ayeyarwaddy and Mandalay Divisions. A number of community learning centres have also been established. Income generation and quality of life improvement programmes have also been initiated. The literacy rate in Myanmar was estimated at 91% in 1999.