|
The
Educational Process
Pre-primary Education | Primary
Education | Secondary
Education
Pre-primary
education
Pre-school
education is under the authority of the Ministry
of Social Welfare, Department of Social Welfare.
The concept of early childhood care and development
(ECCD) is relatively new in Myanmar. In 1997,
it was estimated that approximately 7% of children
aged 3–5 attended pre-school. The limited
availability of child-care services, particularly
in the rural areas, is a matter of concern.
(UNICEF, 1999).
Pre-school
centres cater to children aged between 3 and
5. Generally, children are placed in groups
according to their age, i.e. 3/4-year-olds
and 4/5-year-olds. In pre-school centres, attention
is given to the following aspects:
- Physical
development of the children.
- Development
of basic
language
skills.
- Acquisition
of
basic
numerical
skills.
- Cultivation
of
good
conduct
and
ability
to
show
respect
to
elders.
- Formation
of
habits
for
self-discipline.
- Development
of
spirit
of
self-reliance
and
love
of
work.
- Development
of
group
and
collective
work
habits.
- Cultivation
of
sense
of
responsibility.
- Development
of
creative
ability.
- Development
of
love
of
one’s
natural
environment
and
people.
The
Department of Social Welfare finances and operates
sixty-one day-care centres and pre-primary
schools throughout the country, and subsidizes
424 voluntary day-care centres out of a total
of 671. National policies adopted in 1993 encourage
the participation of NGOs, communities and
families in ECCD activities. The Kachin Baptist
Convention operates 160 day-care centres in
urban and rural areas of Kachin and northern
Shan States, and the Myanmar Maternal and Child
Welfare Association has 157 centres. Seventeen
community-based ECCD centres have been established
in Yangon, Mandalay and Taunggyi in Shan State
with the support of UNICEF. The Department
of Basic Education also introduced a pre-primary
education programme in state schools where
there is teacher and additional space for the
pre-primary class. UNICEF is also supporting
the Department of Basic Education in the training
of teachers for the pre-primary education programme.
In addition, the “Primary Education for
All” project—funded by UNDP and
executed by UNESCO—finances a community-based
ECCD programme in forty-five poor villages.
Number
of pre-schools under the Department of Social
Welfare
| Location |
No.
of pre-schools |
Children
enrolled |
| Yangon
Division |
26 |
2,491 |
| Mandalay
Division |
6 |
1,158 |
| Magway
Division |
4 |
456 |
| Sagaing
Division |
3 |
473 |
| Tanintheryi |
1 |
40 |
| Ayeyarwadi
Division |
2 |
138 |
| Bago
Division |
2 |
254 |
| Kachin
State |
1 |
280 |
| Kayar
State |
1 |
102 |
| Kayin
State |
1 |
210 |
| Mon
State |
5 |
666 |
| Chin
State |
2 |
365 |
| Rakhine
State |
1 |
70 |
| Shan
State |
6 |
735 |
| Total |
61 |
7,438 |
Number
of voluntary day-care centers subsidized
by the Department of Social Welfare
| State/Division
|
Number
of voluntary day-care centers |
Estimated
number of children enrolled |
| Supported |
Non-supported |
Total |
Supported |
Non-Supported |
Total |
| Kachin
State |
32 |
35 |
67 |
1,459 |
1,750 |
3,209 |
| Kayar
State |
30 |
37 |
67 |
1,043 |
1,850 |
2,893 |
| Kayin
State |
24 |
32 |
56 |
1,049 |
1,600 |
2,649 |
| Chin
State |
16 |
20 |
36 |
876 |
1,000 |
1,876 |
| Sagaing
State |
31 |
54 |
85 |
1,585 |
2,700 |
4,285 |
| Tanintheryi
State |
13 |
39 |
52 |
694 |
1,950 |
2,644 |
| Bago
Div. |
28 |
61 |
89 |
1,416 |
3,050 |
4,466 |
| Magway
Div. |
25 |
40 |
65 |
1,555 |
2,000 |
3,555 |
| Mandalay
Div. |
28 |
81 |
109 |
1,358 |
4,050 |
5,408 |
| Mon
State |
26 |
49 |
75 |
1,520 |
2,450 |
3,970 |
| Rakhine
State |
19 |
33 |
52 |
897 |
1,650 |
2,547 |
| Yangon
Div. |
42 |
79 |
101 |
2,267 |
3,950 |
6,217 |
| Shan
State |
63 |
100 |
163 |
3,565 |
5,000 |
8,565 |
| Ayeyarwadi
Div. |
47 |
78 |
125 |
2,023 |
3,900 |
5,923 |
| Total |
424 |
738 |
1,162 |
21,307 |
36,900 |
58,207 |
In
1998, the Department of Educational Planning
and Training of the Ministry of Education carried
out a survey on new school entrants. A total
of 2,309 schools in all states and divisions
were surveyed. Out of a national sample of
112,275 children, 14,110 (or 12.6% of the total)
have attended pre-school. There are, however,
wide variations between states and divisions.
For example, only 1.9% of children entering
primary school in Rakhine State have had pre-school
experience, whereas 36.7% of children in Yangon
have attended pre-school classes.
- TOP -
Primary
education
Primary
education is the first stage of basic education
and, in principle, is compulsory. Primary education
is organized in two cycles: lower (kindergarten
year and Standards I and II), and upper primary
(Standards III and IV).
Concerning the curriculum, Myanmar, English and
mathematics are the core subjects. At the lower
primary level, general studies include both social
and nature studies. At the upper level, basic
science and social studies (including geography,
history, moral and civics, and life skills) were
introduced in the 1998–99 school year.
The primary education weekly lesson timetable
is shown in the table below:
Primary education: weekly lesson
timetable
| Subject |
Number
of weekly periods in each grade |
| Lower
primary |
Upper
primary |
| Kinder |
Std.
I |
Std.
II |
Std.
III |
Std.
IV |
| Myanmar
language |
11 |
11 |
11 |
8 |
8 |
| English
language |
4 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
6 |
| Mathematics |
7 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
| General
studies |
9 |
9 |
9 |
- |
- |
| Basic
science |
- |
- |
- |
4 |
4 |
| Social
studies |
- |
- |
- |
8 |
8 |
| Aesthetics |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| Physical
education |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
| Activities
in school |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
| Total
weekly periods |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 |
| Source:
Ministry of Education, December 1998. Each
teaching period lasts 30 minutes at the
lower- primary and 35 minutes at the upper
primary level. |
In
1999, the average number of pupils per class
was 40 and the average teacher-pupil ratio
was 1:31 in rural areas and 1:26.5 in urban
areas. The average drop-out rate was 9% and
the average repetition rate was 9.7%. However,
many studies suggest that schools in rural
and outlying regions of the country are overcrowded
and understaffed, with a higher teacher/pupil
ratio in the critical lower grades. Nationally,
less than 60% of teachers were certified to
teach in 1996/97, although this situation has
improved during the 1990s.
Basic education indicators are shown in the following
table:
| Indicator |
|
92/93 |
93/94 |
94/95 |
95/96 |
96/97 |
97/98 |
Gross enrollment ratios
by level |
P |
118.8 |
118.3 |
109.6 |
104.6 |
99.7 |
90.6 |
| M
MAAA |
29.5 |
30.8 |
35.7 |
38.3 |
39.2 |
38.6 |
| H |
17.1 |
19.3 |
20.3 |
20.6 |
20.8 |
20.8 |
Net
enrollment ratios by level |
P |
76.2 |
72.0 |
73.6 |
75.8 |
74.8 |
74.7 |
| M
MAAA |
23.1 |
23.6 |
29.3 |
32.7 |
34.3 |
35.8 |
| H |
13.4 |
14.8 |
16.7 |
17.6 |
18.2 |
19.1 |
Transition
rates between levels |
P
to M |
76.5 |
72.5 |
73.9 |
70.9 |
66.4 |
64.8 |
| M
to H |
99.8 |
94.0 |
92.0 |
90.8 |
91.0 |
96.2 |
Retention
rates by levels |
P |
30.9
|
33.1
|
37.1
| >
34.5
|
40.4 |
40.4 |
| M |
80.5 |
63.8 |
62.0 |
62.4 |
61.1 |
63.0 |
Internal efficiency of primary education % |
Efficiency |
37.17 |
39.17 |
46.86 |
50.86 |
49.80 |
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