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Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Polina Lenkova

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Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Polina Lenkova Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Polina Lenkova December 2015 Inside front cover Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Polina Lenkova December 2015 About the researcher Polina Lenkova is a research fellow at Thabyay Education Foundation. She holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University, Washington, D.C. About Thabyay Education Foundation Founded in 1996, Thabyay Education Foundation educates, develops, connects and empowers individuals and organizations in Myanmar to become positive, impactful change-makers. We seek to achieve this through knowledge creation, innovative learning and guided skills expansion, as well as by forging connections to networks, information and opportunities. Acknowledgements The author would like to express her gratitude to everyone who participated in and assisted her during this research. Particularly, the author would like to thank the following people and organizations for providing assistance and suggestions during field research: Tim Schroeder, Saw San Myint Kyi, Saw Eh Say, Hsa Thoolei School, Taungalay Monastery, as well as Thabyay Education Foundation staff Hsa Blu Paw, Cleo Praisathitsawat and U Soe Lay. Furthermore, the author also thanks Tim Schroeder, Kim Joliffe and Saw Kapi for report review and feedback. Design and layout: Katherine Gibney | www.accurateyak.carbonmade.com Note on the text All web links in the report’s footnotes were correct and functioning as of 1 December 2015. 4 Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Contents Acronyms and Glossary 6 Executive Summary 7 1. Introduction: Defining Conflict Sensitivity in Education 10 2. Objectives and Methodology 11 3. Background: Conflict and Education in Myanmar 12 Origins of conflict in Myanmar 12 Conflict, identity and education 12 Present situation 13 4. Karen State: Socio-Political Context and Local Governance Structures 15 5. Education Providers and Systems in Karen State 17 Typology of providers and administration 17 Myanmar government schools 17 Karen education system (KED) 18 Community-based education and mixed schools 19 Faith-based education providers 20 Border-based education providers 20 Concluding remarks 21 6. Expansion of Government Education Services in Karen State 23 Communities lose ownership of schools 23 Local teachers replaced by government teachers 23 Lack of consultation with local stakeholders 24 Teachers’ difficulty to integrate into the local context 24 Concerns about the quality of education 24 Communities have to contribute to teachers’ expenses 25 Concerns over expansion of government control in contested areas 25 Analysis: how do local stakeholders react to government expansion? 25 7. Education Provision Outside of the Government System 27 Case Studies 28 1. Taw Naw High School 28 2. War Ler Mu School 28 3. K’Paw Htaw High School 29 4. Hto Lwi Wah High School 29 5. Government Schools in Myang Gyi Ngu 30 8. Relevant Initiatives and Steps Forward 31 9. Recommendations 33 Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State 5 Acronyms and Glossary BGF Border Guard Force CBO Community Based Organization IDP Internally Displaced Person KED Karen Education Department KHRG Karen Human Rights Group KNLA Karen National Liberation Army KNU Karen National Union KNU/KNLA PC KNU/KNLA Peace Council KRCEE Karen Refugee Committee Education Entity KSEAG Karen State Education Assistance Group KTWG Karen Teacher Working Group MINE Myanmar/Burma Indigenous Network for Education NCA Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement NLD National League for Democracy NNER National Network for Education Reform UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees DKBA Democratic Karen Benevolent Army SDA Seventh Day Adventist Tatmadaw Myanmar Armed Forces 6 Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Executive Summary Education is intimately linked with the concept of Unsurprisingly, there are significant differences in the identity and plays a key role in any nation-building government and the KNU education systems. Unlike the process. government Burman-centric curriculum, the KED teaches Karen nationalism, in Sgaw Karen language. Under the In countries recovering from violent ethno-political conflicts, government system, ethnic minorities are not allowed to education can positively contribute to peace-building teach their native languages during school hours or take efforts, but it can also negatively affect peace, when it subjects in those languages. This has often resulted in interacts with the conflict dynamics. Language of instruction, inability to fully understand the studied material, leading cultural relevance of the curriculum, teaching methods, to student drop-outs from government schools. Conversely, teacher recruitment and placement - all play a role in how in KED schools, Burmese is only taught as a subject and its effectively education can contribute to peace-building. graduates are sometimes unable to speak fluent Burmese. Overall, community acceptance of the education system is Teaching methods in the government system tend to be key to ensuring its conflict sensitivity. The Myanmar situation teacher-oriented, while those in KED schools are more is particularly complex, as the government is not the only student-centred. Furthermore, the KED and government actor in education provision, with different schools widely curricula often have opposite visions of the same present in the country, due to the long history of civil war. historical periods and events. For potential integration and In Karen State, education services are delivered by ethnic convergence of the two systems in the future, curriculum armed groups, religious organizations, communities, as well revision, especially that of history textbooks, will present as refugee camps and migrants schools along the Thai- significant challenges. Finally, as the KED system relies on Myanmar border. Sgaw Karen dialect, another issue worth attention is whether this system is an optimal solution for speakers of the other Successive Myanmar governments have focused their nation- major Karen dialect – Pwo, as well as representatives of other building efforts on the culture of the dominant Burman ethnic minorities attending KED schools. Buddhist majority. In a country, with some 135 minority groups, this approach was often perceived as an attempt Another major problem in terms of potential integration of forced assimilation of ethnic minorities into the majority of the different systems is that the government officially culture. As part of their self-determination struggle, ethnic recognizes only its own education system. The lack of armed opposition groups developed and maintained their recognition makes it problematic to hold discussions own education systems, which they perceived as key to regarding convergence of the state and ethnic education preserving their group’s cultural identity. The KNU, the main systems, because ethnic education providers are likely Karen ethnic armed group, established the Karen Education to perceive that they are forced to assimilate into the Department (KED) to oversee education provision. The mainstream education system. At the same time, as KED KED currently provides support to 1,430 schools, paying schools are mostly primary, its students face problems stipends to almost 7,911 teachers in areas under full or continuing their studies in the government education partial administration of Karen armed opposition groups. system and accessing government jobs. Furthermore, with However, only one third of schools receiving KED support fall immensely more funds currently available at the government under its full administration, with the majority being mixed or disposal due to donors’ priorities, it is difficult in practice for government schools. ethnic education providers to compete with the government. Christian networks provide support to areas where the Despite representing the legacy of a protracted conflict in government cannot reach, either helping to set up Karen State, education provision has not been addressed community schools and connecting them to the government in detail during the nationwide ceasefire negotiations to system or offering their own education system. Furthermore, date, with more progress due to be made during the political there is a wide variety of community-based and mixed dialogue stage. While the peace negotiations are proceeding schools, which teach a curriculum from the government, KED, slowly, the reality on the ground is changing quickly. Since or church, or a combination of different curricula. Monastic the 2012 ceasefire with the KNU, the government has built schools accept mostly poor students with experience in hundreds of new schools and assigned thousands of teachers either state or non-state system and teach the government to previously inaccessible areas of Karen State. How local curriculum. Border-based schools are also important to stakeholders react to such expansion (particularly in areas consider, despite their location outside of Myanmar, due to where other education systems are already present) is crucial the fact that students from Karen State continue travelling to to understanding how education is likely to impact conflict the other side of the border to receive an education, which is dynamics. Evidence suggests that the current approach in often more affordable and perceived to be of better quality terms of school construction, teacher placement
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