172 Brooke Zobrist and Patrick McCormick
over areas that fall under Schedule 1, which includes health, security, and
education. They are able to do so for areas under Schedule 2, which includes
state-level budgets and state-level development. Crucially, education falls
under Schedule 1.
In July 2014, the Parliament of Myanmar passed a new National
Education Bill. Though approved by Parliament, President Thein Sein
sent the document back without signing off with instructions to rework
at least twenty-five key points in the Bill. As per Myanmar’s constitution,
the President can send legislation back to the Parliament within two weeks
of passage. The National Network for Education Reform, a civil society
collaboration comprised of academics, teachers and advocates opposes
the strict control of the education system carried forward in the new draft
law. It criticizes the law on multiple grounds. Firstly, they state that the
creation of a National Education Commission is ”unnecessary” and may
contribute to ongoing control over education content and limited quality
assurances from the central government. Additionally, they find provision
for students with disabilities to be inadequate and discriminatory. Lastly,
they argue that as opposed to central control over Basic Education, localities
led by a local school board should manage schools in their area.^11
Education in Historical Context
Under the British, who began colonizing the country in 1824 before
completely taking it over in 1885, the state managed education. Previously,
under the Burmese kings, monastic institutions provided education, which
was largely a male domain. Under the British, a greater number of children
— both boys and girls — began to attend 7,000 basic education schools,
where instruction was in Burmese.^12 Other government schools used
English as the medium of instruction, as this was useful for employment
in government service, and so these schools were well funded.
Under colonial rule, schools — especially colleges and universities —
became centres of social and political activism. By the 1920s, university
students had begun to strike against the University Act Bill which
established English as medium of instruction and set fees for instruction,
placing higher learning out of reach for most Burmese.^13 A widespread
perception is that this history of student activism, which has continued
sporadically into the recent past, has led the Ministry of Education to
become highly centralized.