Universities in Myanmar need more international assistance

The University Council of YTU has highlighted once again a four-year hiatus in educational activities following the military coup in 2021.

The majority of academic and professional staff as well as students from the universities in Myanmar refused to go back to campuses run by pro-military administrations and have been participating in Civil Disobedience Movement. For instance, it is estimated that at least 75 per cent of students at Yangon Technological University have been still refusing to return.

Academic activities in Myanmar have been stalled for more than four years, having initially been suspended in March 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

" There are concerns about the quality of the pro-military educational activities, partly because these programmes are pitched primarily to demonstrate the military’s ability to function as a government despite the mass walkout of 360,000 civil servants in the wake of the coup. Admissions criteria in some medical schools have reportedly been lowered to boost admission, for instance, and there are concerns about a shortage of experienced staff " a CDM professor explained.

" On the other hand, some universities in ethnically controlled areas, which have relative freedom and security, are reportedly doing a good job of delivering undergraduate programmes. Such successes should be studied so they can be adapted to other similar locations; accreditation and international recognition for such colleges should also be accelerated " the CDM professor said.

It has been a grave concern about the shortages of the skills and competencies due to the coup. On the other hand, there also has been some positive point of view that with courage and innovation, we may even come up with better quality programmes than we had before the coup, with greater capacity, resilience, flexibility and iterability.

The CDM professor highlighted one constraint that is financial. If Burmese universities resumed their programmes, they would have to pay their staff. For the time being, some staff are either doing private tutoring or teaching part time in private universities to make ends meet, while some also receive support from groups from the civil disobedience movement. However, this situation is unsustainable; if the hiatus persists, most university staff may change their career for better life prospects resulting in a brain drain from the sector.

" A further barrier is potential repercussions for staff and students who have taken part in the civil disobedience movement. Pro-military administrations not only have suspended or dismissed thousands of such staff and students but have also put them on blacklists, denied their applications for passports and blocked them from taking up international roles, such as on committees of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). To mitigate these risks, the identities of participating staff and students in the academic programmes run by pro-democracy administrations should be undisclosed among peers, and students’ work should be assessed blind. Some leading staff could also be relocated to safer locations, potentially abroad. But this is a tremendous challenge, which the international community should help higher education institutions in Myanmar to overcome " the CDM professor said.

Teaching virtually would obviously help to protect identities and also overcome capacity issues. But in Myanmar, very few state universities, such as the University of Forestry and Environmental Science, have resumed their courses online. A few private institutions are also running online programmes – some free, some not. But while some are apparently successful, the range of programmes is very limited.

Burmese universities should follow the example of Ukrainian universities and request partnerships with international higher education institutions on joint/double degrees, student transfer programmes (whereby the foreign partner takes over the education of some Burmese students) and student exchange programmes (whereby the Burmese students return to their home institutions). 

" The problem is that the division of Burmese providers and students into pro-democracy and pro-military groups confuses overseas actors about how to respond. Asean countries also have a policy of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, and no higher education institution in the bloc has taken any initiative to provide access to academic resources for Myanmar academics " according to the CDM professor. " If international universities do agree to lend their support, one factor that must be considered is universality versus local variation. Politically, democratic federalism seems to be widely supported, so it makes sense to pursue educational federalism, strengthening individual local universities. However, with limited human resources, security and freedom, a central online learning platform offering all higher education institutions in the field equitable access to academic resources and modules might be a better initial option. Either way, the system should be set up in a flexible way so that it can be upgraded to suit future developments in law and policy " the CDM professor highlighted.

In hindsight, much greater international help and integration should have been sought by Myanmar’s higher education sector long ago. Then, we in Myanmar might have been able to avoid the current hiatus and might be closer to being able to play our part in realising Goal 4 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals on access to quality education.