(Interview) – A former professor of Burmese language at Rangoon University, Hla Tun has urged the government to control private schools by ordering them to follow the government’s syllabus and administering final exams. Hla Tun also operates a private school, ‘Nagathein Myanmarsar’, in Rangoon. He has more than 40 years teaching experience. From 1964 to 1976, he worked as a primary school teacher. In Rangoon, there are nearly 300 registered private schools, according to the Rangoon Directory. Mizzima reporter Tun Tun talked with Hla Tun about Burmese education, private schools and tutoring.
Question: When were private schools widely accepted in Burma?
The Burmese education system is in need of more qualified teachers, a unified curriculum and government control of testing at private schools, says Hla Tun. Photo: MizzimaAnswer: As far as I know, many students began to attend private schools in 1957. There were many private schools in Rangoon and Mandalay. In Mandalay: Shwe Mahn, Tai Chit, East Pwekone, West Pwekone, Yadanarpon, Naypyitaw, Shan, and Pyinnya Beikman were big private schools. The schools used to accept about 300 boarding students and 1,000 day-students a year. The schools were successful. Students used to achieve distinctions in several subjects. But, the private schools had to follow the government’s syllabus because the examination was conducted by the government. In Rangoon, after the socialist government nationalized private schools in 1964 and 1965, most of the students were not satisfied with government schools, so they started attending private schools then also.
Question: Are there private schools for students in foreign countries?
Answer: Yes, there are advanced schools. The teachers from these private schools often earn very high wages.
Questions: Many students attend private schools in Burma. Why?
Answer: In my opinion, it’s because there are too few teachers in government schools and the system itself is poor. I hope that there are still some good senior assistance teachers in government schools.
Question: How do you rate private schools?
Answer: I think some private schools can provide good services, but not all schools. Some private schools have failed to keep their promises, so some students, especially students who come from far away, have encountered many problems.
Question: What are the pros and cons of private schools?
Answer: There are many private schools, so the business has become highly competitive. The private schools have tried to provide better services. Because of intense competition, the schools constantly try to improve and build a good reputation.
On the other hand, the government education department should supervise private schools. The government needs to set a reasonable national education standard and order the private schools to meet the standards. The government also needs to decide whether the examinations will be conducted by the government or the individual private schools. And the government needs to decide about the syllabus and supervising groups for the private schools.
Question: Students have to spend a lot of time in private tutoring instead of spending time in government schools. How can this problem be solved?
Answer: In my opinion, most of the teachers are hard working. In the socialist era, the government imposed a law that said if a teacher from a government school offered private tutoring, the teacher could be sentenced to three years in prison and fined about 30,000 kyat (about US$ 36). The problem is that the teachers receive very low pay so they offer private tutoring.
Question: What are the problems in private schools regarding the curriculum?
Answer: One of the problems is that some international schools don’t teach Burmese language until grade 8, so some students have encountered difficulty in the language. Some international schools have ignored the Burmese language.
On the other hand, in England there are Cambridge University’s equivalent Burmese language exams. The questions are very professional. I’ve seen a specimen exam paper. So, Burmese language is important in some foreign countries. But, the international schools in Burma don’t know it.
Question: When the exams draw near, special study guides are published. Are they useful for students?
Answer: Before the education ministry allowed professors to sell study material. Therefore, professors from universities published teaching and learning material called ‘journals’. They were a great help to high school teachers, Scholastic Assessment Test teachers and students. But, after Minister Chan Nyein took office, that practice was not allowed. Some people published the material illegally. I think teaching and learning materials are essential. Those materials were allowed to be published in the pre-socialist era and socialist era in Burma. Even the former junta allowed publishing teaching materials in earlier times.
Question: What should the government do for students who cannot afford to receive private tutoring?
Answer: In the government high schools, to increase the passing percentage rate the schools invited professors from universities to speak about the subjects. And some government schools allowed students to come to school for extra learning.
On the other hand, some students can afford private tutoring. Rich students can receive individual study. The price of private tutoring varies from 25,000 kyat per month to several hundreds thousand kyat per month. As long as the gap between the rich and the poor exists, those situations will exist. So, government schools need to have good teachers and teaching material to narrow the gap in the quality of education that all students receive.
Question: Vice President Dr. Sai Mauk Kham has said that some rules for private schools and private tutoring would be promulgated.
Answer: I want the government to control the private schools via a government syllabus. And some examinations should be conducted by the government. In the socialist era, the final exams of Grade 4 were conducted by the relevant township government education department. The exams of Grade 8 were conducted by the State/Region education department. It’s very important. In the past, every township used to award the 10 highest achievers of Grade 4 and the six highest achievers of Grade 8. Those highest achievers also used to get distinctions in all subjects in the Grade 10 exam.
Since the final exams of Grade 4 and 8 were conducted by individual schools, the quality of the students has decreased and most of them lack basic knowledge and qualifications.
Therefore, the final exam of Grade 4 should be conducted by the relevant township, and the exams of Grade 8 should be conducted by the State/Region. The highest achievers should be recognized. Then the students would have more motivation and their qualifications would improve.
