Primary and Secondary Education in Myanmar 187
services, rather than articulations of a vision for their individual schools
or area. When asked what decentralization could mean for his area, one
district official replied that it could be a way to find money more easily
for extracurricular activities. Another said that he would like control
over school construction and the geographic distribution of teachers. He
specifically stated that he saw no need for him to be able to make changes
to curriculum, teaching, or learning outcomes.
Another aspect to the education ethos is how individuals view
themselves, their institution, and the practice of administration.
Respondents did not discuss the possibility of developing policy
themselves to achieve specific outcomes. As we alluded to earlier,
individuals in the Ministry of Education work in a hierarchical, top-
down structure. This arrangement has an impact on how they view
their abilities to make decisions, the authority they do and do not have,
or can and cannot ask for, and the processes of accountability and
responsiveness, both to higher and lower levels of administration. The
system requires following precedent and guidelines; to do otherwise
carries great risks. In this context, since teachers and administrators do
not see themselves as responsible for defining or shaping education,
but rather as implementers of the education process. Questions such as
whether decentralization was desirable or possible fell outside of what
most interviewees saw as concerning them. As one Education Officer
put it, “Over time, decentralization will happen by itself.” His reply
indicates an understanding of decentralization as happening outside of
the individual and their efforts, at an abstract level.
This institutional culture reflects a wider societal discourse on the
importance of being educated, and the importance for children to become
educated people. It is not clear, however, what “educated” means, and
therefore, it is difficult to understand what the purpose of education is.
Interviewees seemed to suggest that if education happened, then everything
else would fall in place. Perhaps the most important goal of education is
simply to have students participate in the school system. Following this
understanding, it is enough for students to be participating in the system,
but it is not the place of teachers and other administrators to define what
that education is — its goals or desired outcomes.
Given the Ministry of Education’s institutional culture, substantive
decentralization seems unlikely without individuals reassessing their
roles, together with a more general reassessment with the practices of