"The Myanmar Teachers? Federation (MTF) said it plans to cooperate with students? organizations and join their protests against the National Education Bill if the proposed legislation is not revised in Parliament in the coming weeks. The MTF also called on authorities to stop their criminal investigations into recent, unauthorized student protests against the bill. Last month, teachers, students and education experts slammed the bill and said the government had failed to properly consult them during the drafting process. Students? organizations held protests against the bill in recent weeks at universities across the country to highlight their concerns. The MTF, which comprises associations representing teachers in all levels of the education system, said on Monday that it would join the student organizations during future protests. ?We have the same intention as them, which is to reform the education system in a democratic way. So we encourage them and we will fully cooperate with them,” Arkar Moe Thu, secretary of the MTF, said. The National Education Bill is a key piece of legislation intended to reform Burma?s education system which suffered from decades of underfunding and overbearing government control under previous military regimes."...