Kaladan News
Dated:
Primary Education
System Deteriorated in Northern Arakan
Maungdaw, August 30: Primary education system is
deteriorated day by day in northern
according to a prominent Rohingya
leader of Maungdaw
Town.
The peoples who are living in northern Arakan are
mostly farmers and extremely poor.
They are facing
many difficulties to continue their
children in
schools for learning. They have to
pay many tools to
the Nasaka
authorities and besides, have to pay fees
for their children to the
schoolteachers. So, some
parents could not afford expenses
of their children
and stopped learning in schools, he
further said.
Primary teachers are not regular in their schools as
insufficient of salaries. They get 5,000
to 7,000
Kyats per month; and this makes them very hard to
maintain their families because of
skyrocketing of
essential commodities. So, they
collect money from
their pupils at the rate of Kyat-1,
200 per head,
monthly. Regarding this, government
keeps mum and does
not take any action or increase
teachers’ salaries,
said an ex- teacher to our source.
According to UNICEF report of 2001, only 7 percent of
percent was for the military.
The average of the students in every primary school
is about 400 to 500 and 8 to 12
teachers. All the
students are compelled to attend
the coaching centers,
which have been set up by the
teachers. Students have
to pay monthly fees to the
teachers. If anyone, who
does not attend the coaching
center, he will not be
listed in the final result or to be
failed, said a
farmer to our correspondent.
Since 1992, Rohingyas have been totally barred from
appointment of teachers.
destroying the future of an entire
generation, with
children being denied educational
opportunities.
Although education is free by law, more than half the
children in
keep up, adding to the financial burden
on already
poor parents, said a Rohingya
elite.
The number of schools, facilities and teachers is
grossly inadequate. "All too
often schools use
textbooks dating back to the 50s or
60s". Some 35
percent of primary teachers are
unqualified, according
to AP,
Thousands of Burmese children access to a school will
remain a dream unless and until the
military regime
radically changes its policy. ##
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