In the respect of stakeholders’ participation in Myanmar education system, some policies, programs and associations have been prescribed and established.
For instance, in the 2008 Constitution (Clause 28), The union shall • (b) enact the necessary laws to enable National people to participate in matters of their education and health; (Japan International Cooperation Agency, 2013)
And in the 30 Years Long Term Educational Development Plan (2001-2031), • Program 8. Carrying out basic education activities in collaboration with community (Japan International Cooperation Agency, 2013)
In 10 points Educational Policy by the Head of State in 2011, • To promulgate relevant laws for the participation and contribution of the private sectors in educational services (Japan International Cooperation Agency, 2013)
Then, in the draft new education law, which was proposed to parliament in April, 2014, • Every citizen participates in educational development activities . (Ministry of Higher Education,lower Myanmar,( n.d.)
This movement of greater community participation can grow the local initiatives which bring community and schools close together, then, it can increase a sense of ownership, mutual support, division of labor, educational resources and operational effectiveness.
Even though there are some formulating policies concerned with public participation in the government sector, parents’ participation reform process was lagged behind than other reforms such as child-center teaching methodology, upgrading teacher training and other curriculum development and so on (Brooke & Patrick, 2013) and the initiatives of upgrading parental involvement in education are not successful throughout the country yet.
Many schools have larger bodies which bring most or all parents together. In Myanmar, in order to upgrade the level of community contribution to school, there are two organizations which are linked to schools: Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and School Board of Trustee (SBTs) which was introduced after 1988. These two organizations are comprised of school head, selected teachers and parents elected by the majority of parents in community. (Unesco International Bureau of Education, 2011) . some systems which have separate school committees, conflicts can arise between the two bodies(Bray, 2000) and a key element for avoiding this type of conflict is a clear, written statement of respective roles, powers and duties. (Gershberg, 1999) . Concerned with the roles and responsibilities of PTA and SBT, the following policies are mentioned in the handbook of management manual.
Parent Teacher Association
The PTA is a joint body of parents and teachers and serves for a one year term unless removed from the position because of their low performance. Every year in last week in June and first week in July , new committee must be organized at the annual meeting . And Parent Teacher Association Conference must be held at least three times per school year. PTAs are intended to strengthen school-community relationships; make the school a good teaching and learning environment; foster a good academic relationship between teachers and student;lead and administer schools on behalf of the community in collaboration with local government bodies. A PTA is responsible for Parents supports to school for the children all round development, parents support to school to make sure the students well manner and discipline, parents discuss with schools to improve student’s achievement, teacher and parents collaborate for the school development, support the teachers and students in educational activities, support all children in the school area are at school and increase retention rate Table of Organization structure of PTA and SBT Position Number Remark President 3 to 5 Community members or parents who support to school or interested in school activities Chairman 1 School Principal Co – Chairman 2 1 parent and one teacher Secretary 1 Teacher Assistant secretary 1 1 parent Members 2 One teacher and one parent from primary schools Members 4 Two teachers and two parents from middle schools Members 6 Three teachers and three parents from high schools.
School Board of Trustee
A school board of Trustee is legally nominated body that aims to improve educational activities. The board is composed of seven members and the members can be government officers who will support the school, members from civil society, volunteers from educational field and old students. The establishment of the board is expected to support school furniture, facilities and cooperate local organization, to support the school stipend for the children from poor families, to persuade the community to cooperate in the activity of all school children finish primary education and decrease dropout rates ,to create child friendly schools in the community and improve the school quality ,to support the school personnel basic need in order to build their capacity. In addition, the board is intended to find the school fund or school welfare fund in order to improve the school environment, fund must be voluntary, manage the school fund systematically and hand overs the properties to schools, not to force the parents to donate the schools, to collaborate with the parent teacher association, not to support the school building, classroom, furniture and teaching aids.
According to Unesco International Bureau of Education, (2011), the roles of Myanmar parents have been expanded to increase participation in school affair and management and in children learning through EFA concepts. Likely, an NGO called Community-based Educational Development Association is working with Myanmar government to extend the roles of parents from fundraising, maintenance and construction of building and to train parents for operating schools effectively (Mark, 2000) On the other hand, many schools did not summit the report of the parents associations’ meetings regularly to the Township Education Offices after the meeting was conducted normally before the end of school-year.( Win Bo, n.d.) And it can be assumed that parent’s involvement in Myanmar context is still low and it cannot be out reached the whole country then, the importance of parental involvement is not recognized by the educators.
Furthermore, there are some issues that should be addressed. Martin (1996) has highlighted tensions that can arise in the membership and operation of parents’ associations. In some systems, membership is only granted to parents who pay annual fees. This is seen as a way not only to raise revenue but also to increase the sense of commitment among members. In other systems, membership is defined more loosely. All parents are considered to be members if they have children studying in the schools. Yet in some contexts, Martin points out that automatic membership is not only unappreciated but even resented. Parents and other community members may feel that they are considered little more than cheap labor to contribute to their schools at the behest of small groups which operate at the center and make decisions which affect the majority. In the Myanmar context, there is no prescribed clear written statement concerned with the membership. Therefore, it is recommended for doing research concerned with the organizational structure of the PTA.
Concerned with the roles of the those associations, in some systems, those associations are seen as resources to assist the operation of the schools, while other settings have much wider roles for parents’ participation and it depends not only the culture but also the structure. (Bray, 2000) According to the policy framework, the roles of the PTAs in Myanmar context do not have much wider roles for school operation as the system is fully funded by government. The government provides teachers, salary and other operational costs, curriculum, textbook, management and supervision. Communities are encouraged to participate in management and share in the cost of school operation and development, in school finance and the community relationship. However, those associations are not responsible for school management, teaching –learning process, class retention and promotion, teacher appointment and transfer, and school curriculum.
In conclusions, for community participation, Myanmar government has developed formal framework of laws and regulations, however, there are still left to ask some specific questions to understand the existing organizations such as:
What are the criteria for membership?
How are members chosen? How do existing school/parent/community organizations participate in school affairs?
What level of participation is actually achieved by such organizations?
Does level of participation differ widely by region (rural-urban), by the social and economic class of pupils and their families, and between public and private schools?
Does the Ministry simply assume these organizations exist, or does it actively seek to learn if they exist and what they do?
Is there any attempt made in the Ministry’s data gathering exercises to learn about the existence and activities of such organizations?
References:
Bo, W. (n.d.). Myanmar Education Monitoring Indicators. Retrieved from www2.unescobkk.org
Bray, M. (2000). Community Partnerships in Education : Dimensions , Variations , and Implications, (January), 1–66.
Brooke, Z., & Patrick, M. (2013). A Preliminary Assessment of Decentralization in Education (No. 1). Duscission Paper Series No. 1. Japan International Cooperation Agency. (2013).
Data Collection Survey on Education Sector in Myanmar Final Report Data Collection Survey on Education Sector in Myanmar Final Report. Retrieved from http://www.cermm.org Ministry of Higher Education(lower Myanmar). (n.d.).
National Participation for National Education (Burmese Version), (၇). Unesco International Bureau of Education. (2011).
World Data on Education Données mondiales de l ’ éducation Datos Mundiales de Educación (7th editio.). Retrieved from http://www.ibe.unesco.org
Ministry of Education , Lower Myanmar ( 2012)School Management Manual .
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