The NNER said it received the invitation to attend the conference from a director of the ministry on March 1 and it was withdrawn by the ministry at 9.30pm on March 3.

“The cancellation to attend the national level forum on education reform in Nay Pyi Taw on March 5 and 6 is due to the government’s total opposition to the NNER being involved in the event,” said the statement, issued at a news conference held by the network at the Thamine Myoma Monastery in Yangon’s Hlaing Township.

The NNER has lost trust in the government’s commitment to education reform because of the cancellation, the statement said.

More than 150 representatives of the NNER were listed on the invitation and they included monks from monastic schools who had booked their tickets to travel to Nay Pyi Taw, said an NNER member, Dr Thein Lwin.

Another NNER member, Ko Soe Tun, who is also a member of the 88 Generation, Peace and Open Society group, said the ministry might have cancelled the invitation because of concern the network wouldcriticise the government’s education policy, which was closely controlled by the central administration.

Ko Soe Tun said he intended to continue criticizing the government’s education policy because it did not represent the views of all ethnic groups.

The NNER, which represents more than 600 educational organizations, was formed in 2012 to draft a national education policy which was submitted to MPs in June last year.