A new report released today by the Ta’ang (Palaung) researcher’s makes public the worsening education system in Burma’s Northern Shan State under the control of the military government. Data was collected primarily from three main townships, Namkham, Man Tong and Namshan. They comprised of 61 villages and 175 interviewees.
The Lightless Life report by the Ta’ang Students and Youth Organization TSYO documents the negligence of the military regime, lack of opportunity in education and the futureless lives of Ta’ang people. There are a few schools and materials. The SPDC does not invest in resources for teachers and most are unqualified and are poorly paid, some teachers are corrupt and charge their students for school materials.
Studies conducted in the Ta’ang region between 2000 and 2009 showed one school in which a class of 172 children dwindled to only 3 students by tenth grade as a result of various external pressures and inadequate internal support from school staff and the Ministry of Education.
The SPDC spends a paltry 1.4% of GDP on health and education, and is the only country in the region whose military budget is greater than that of health and education combined. Students also suffer human rights violations and are subjected to forced labour or are forcibly recruited to join USDA forces.
Education remains continually under pressure especially in these difficult socio-economic and political times. Even when students manage to get an education the future is not always bright. “My education does not relate to my profession. I studied law at university, but I sell tea. Education is no guarantee for our future. The education system only teaches us to be afraid and to obey, I find it very corrupt”, said one man interviewed for the report.
Mai Mao Dang, coordinator of education TSYO says, “If the Military does not change, its education policy, education will degenerate rapidly. The future for people in rural areas looks bleak. No funding means school closures, student dropout and no alternatives”
Contact:
Mai Mao Dang +66 875 246 072
Mai Aung Ko +66 801 184 479
The full report Lightless Life can viewed at www.palaungland.org web site.
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