"In a major upset, the Education Ministry?s higher education bill was rejected during the final stages of its passage through Myanmar?s Hluttaw, or parliament, after opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other legislators criticised it. It is the first time that the lower house has scrapped an entire bill rather than amending it. A new bill to increase university autonomy and place institutions on the road to international competitiveness will be drafted by legislators after the proposed bill was thrown out on 31 July because it would not allow universities enough freedom. Amendments would not be sufficient, Aung San Suu Kyi said, requesting parliament ?to bring about a bill that is more suitable, for this country, this era and this world”. Suspension of the ministry?s bill would ?enable the Hluttaw to discuss a higher education bill that is more comprehensive, brings more benefit to the country and represents the voice of the students,” said Thein Nyunt, the MP responsible for putting forward the eleventh-hour motion to scrap the bill. Legislators said the ministry?s proposed bill simply mirrored the system set up by the previous military regime, and blamed government control of universities for the collapse of higher education standards in recent decades."...