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Administration
and Management of the Education System
Administratively,
Myanmar is divided into seven States (Chin,
Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine and Shan)
and seven Divisions (Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway,
Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi and Yangon), consisting of 52 districts, 324 townships,
13,762 village tracts and 65,235 villages. The vast majority of people (72%)
live in the central Divisions, as opposed to the outlying states. There are more
than 130 ethnic groups known as “nationalities”. Major groups are
Bamar, Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine and Shan. In 1999, the population
was estimated at 42.12 million, extrapolated from the last national census of
1983. According to the 1983 census, Bamar accounted for 69% of the total population.
The official language is Myanmar.
Educational policy is centralized at the level of the Ministry of Education in
Yangon. There are ten major Departments within the Ministry:
- Department
of Basic Education I;
- Department
of Basic Education II;
- Department
of Basic Education III;
- Department
of Educational Planning and Training;
- Department
of Higher Education (Lower Myanmar);
- Department
of Higher Education (Upper Myanmar);
- Myanmar
Board of Examinations;
- Myanmar
Education Research Bureau (MERB);
- Myanmar
Language Commission;
- Universities
Historical Research Centre.
The
Ministry of Education supervises both basic
and higher education, although other ministries
are responsible for the administration and
management of post-secondary and tertiary-level
establishments. Implementation of the basic
education policy is split between two departmental
offices, one in Mandalay (for Upper Myanmar)
and one in Yangon (for Lower Myanmar). A third
office attends separately to the needs of Yangon
City schools. These three departmental offices
implement policy decisions in the fields of
curriculum, syllabus and textbooks.
As
regards the decision-making process at the
ministry level, a special co-ordination committee
(referred to as the Executive Committee) is
formed with the Directors General and Chairmen
of the ten departments as members, in addition
to the Minister and two Deputy Ministers. The
decisions of the Committee are implemented
by those responsible at various departmental
levels.
Pre-school education and special education are
under the authority of the Ministry of Social
Welfare.
The
Myanmar Naing-Ngan Education Committee was
established in 1991 with a view to establishing
an education system compatible with the political,
economic and social system, help uphold Myanmar’s
cultural traits and contribute to the development
of the country. The Committee is undertaking
the following duties:
- To
advise the government in enacting educational
laws which will support the perpetuation
of the physical integrity of the Union, national
solidarity and national sovereignty.
- To
advise the government in adopting educational
policies in line with the social, economical
and political system.
- To
give guidance in implementing programmes aiming
at promoting the intellectual and technical
advancement of the people of Myanmar.
- To
advise the government in reviewing and amending
programmes in the education sector, if necessary.
- To
give guidance in the co-operation with international
development agencies and educational organizations
for the implementation of educational programmes.
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