Narinjara news
Myanmar : Schools to
Take Exams Before Courses Complete
Sittwe, 26th February 02: All the primary school students
of the south-western state of Myanmar have been ordered by the township
administration of the ruling Myanmarese junta to sit
for the annual examination, according to a parent from Zedidaung
of Buthidaung township in Rakhine
State.
The examination starting from the first week of this month was conducted by the
order of the Township Education Officer. This year, the primary teachers
have been away from schools and working elsewhere throughout the year to keep
their body and soul together due to poor salary which could hardly make ends
meet so that courses could not be finished. The
price of a 50 kilo bag of rice is kyat 8,000 while the monthly salary of a
primary school headmaster is kyat 5,000.
A primary school teacher in Buthidaung township told
our correspondent that, school teachers can no
way attend school for more than ten days in a month because they have to
work outside the classroom to augment their poor salary. He also added
that, if a teacher keeps ' good relation' with the township education officer
they face no problem absenting from their respective schools.
The State Peace and Development Council junta also issued official circulars
that all schools in the country must have a 95% pass of the enrolled
students. The junta order has spelt disaster to the education system of
the state as the teachers are now compelled to
give a 95% pass to the students irrespective of the individual performance
record. The junta has also threatened to take rigorous actions against
the teachers and schools which cannot make 95% of the enrolled students pass
their examinations!
The outcome of the order can be seen in the result of the school leaving
examination in which the student pass rate is below 5 per cent.
Such a move has raised many questions to the conscious guardians of the
students how much sincere is the Myanmarese military junta in their commitment to improve
the quality of education? A high school teacher commented that, a mere
40% young children below 12 years of age can make to the high schools for the
high cost of education during the SPDC junta rule, which is far worse than in
the days of the despot Ne Win.
While the quality of education at home has gone down the drain, the teacher
accused that, the junta officials send their children to schools in foreign
countries like