Strength in Diversity: Towards Universal Education in Myanmar’s Ethnic Areas Kim Jolliffe and Emily Speers Mears October 2016 1 Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank all of the ethnic basic education providers that have worked for many years to serve their communities. In particular, the Karen Education Department, Karen Teacher Working Group, Mon National Education Committee and Department, and the Rural Development Foundation of Shan State and associates, all gave their time, resources, advice and consideration to make this report possible. Additionally, World Education, Myanmar Education Consortium, UNICEF, Child’s Dream, Save the Children, and all at the Education Thematic Working Group have been instrumental in the development of this work, providing information on their programs, making introductions, discussing their own strengths and challenges, providing feedback on initial findings, and helping to paint a deeper picture of what international support to ethnic basic education looks like. In particular, big thank yous to Dr. Win Aung, Aye Aye Tun, Dr. Thein Lwin (formerly worked for the Ministry of Education), Craig Nightingale, Amanda Seel, Catherine Daly, and Andrea Costa for reviewing early drafts of the paper and providing invaluable feedback, which has helped the report grow and develop considerably. About the Authors Having worked in Southeast Asia for over eight years, Kim Jolliffe is an independent researcher, writer, analyst and trainer, specializing in security, aid policy, and ethnic politics in Myanmar/Burma. He is the lead researcher on the Social Services in Contested Areas (SSCA) research project. Emily Speers Mears is a researcher and policy adviser specializing in education and conflict in fragile states. She has worked on Myanmar since 2010, and speaks Burmese. About The Asia Foundation The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our programs address critical issues affecting Asia in the 21st century—governance and law, economic development, women’s empowerment, environment, and regional cooperation. In addition, our Books for Asia and professional exchanges are among the ways we encourage Asia’s continued development as a peaceful, just, and thriving region of the world. Headquartered in San Francisco, The Asia Foundation works through a network of offices in 18 Asian countries and in Washington, DC. Working with public and private partners, the Foundation receives funding from a diverse group of bilateral and multilateral development agencies, foundations, corporations, and individuals. Preface With many of the decades-long conflicts affecting areas of Myanmar still ongoing, parallel governance systems have been developed by ethnic armed groups and their affiliated organizations to provide vital services to impacted communities. The delivery of basic education by ethnic groups is one such critical social service reaching an underserved and vulnerable population of children and youths. While still small compared to other countries in the region, government spending on education has significantly risen in recent years and with new ceasefires in place, the Ministry of Education has been able to expand its provisions to previously inaccessible areas. However, the growth and expansion of government services into the conflict-affected areas also generates political and administrative concerns from ethnic groups. The reality is that parallel systems will remain for the foreseeable future, and there is a need to recognize the diversity in the delivery of education and complementarity with the parallel systems of government and ethnic groups. This paper is a part of the research project “Social Services in Contested Areas” which undertakes the study of governance structures of non-state disputed territories and its interaction with parallel state structures and services. The Asia Foundation is pleased to present this research on basic education in eastern Myanmar. This study details the role and operations of non-state education providers in ethnic areas, specifically Mon, Shan and Karen States, and the interface with state education. This paper terms education providers connected to ethnic armed groups, and other community-based providers, as ethnic basic education providers (EBEPs), which have been providing vital pre-tertiary education services to conflict-affected communities. Given the political grievances arising out of the Burmanization of government education in the past, as well as the inaccessibility of state services in some of these areas, EBEPs have filled a significant gap and have been educating youths that live daily with conflicts and are at risk of hindered educational development. Valuing a diverse education sector and recognizing existing providers as important partners, will not only contribute to universal education goals and ensure access for all, but is a durable component of a successful peace process. We hope that this report will contribute to ongoing discussions of critical governance and reform issues that are cornerstone to Myanmar’s transition and peace process. This research paper is authored by independent researchers, Mr. Kim Jolliffe and Ms. Emily Speers Mears. Kim Jolliffe specializes in areas of security, ethnic conflict and aid policy, while Emily Speers Mears works in conflict and education. The report was generously funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The opinions expressed in this report are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of DFID, DFAT or The Asia Foundation. Dr. Kim N.B. Ninh Country Representative The Asia Foundation Myanmar Table of Contents Glossary ................................................................................................................................................. i PART I: Background and Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 SECTION ONE: Introduction .................................................................................................................. 2 Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 4 Organization of the report .............................................................................................................. 4 SECTION TWO: A short history of education and conflict in Myanmar .............................................. 6 The pre-independence era ............................................................................................................. 6 Post-independence and the construction of a national system (1948-1962) ................................. 7 Ne Win’s socialist era (1962-1988) .............................................................................................. 8 New regime, new policies (1988-2011) ........................................................................................ 9 The reform era (2011-2016) ......................................................................................................... 10 SECTION THREE: Ethnic basic education providers: who they are and how they work ................... 13 The term: ethnic basic education provider .................................................................................. 13 The political geography ................................................................................................................ 13 Basic education through “community schools” ........................................................................... 14 Support provided by EBEPs .......................................................................................................... 15 Support provided by MoE ............................................................................................................ 15 Whose schools are those? ........................................................................................................... 16 SECTION FOUR: Introducing the case studies .................................................................................... 17 The Karen case study ................................................................................................................... 17 The Mon case study ................................................................................................................... 20 The Shan case study ................................................................................................................... 22 PART II: Reforming Myanmar’s Education Sector ........................................................................... 26 SECTION FIVE: The Ministry of Education and its reform agenda ......................................................... 27 Increased education spending – government and donors ....................................................... 28 The Comprehensive Education Sector Review and National Education Strategic Plan ................ 29 Main areas of increased spending and education reform ........................................................... 29 Legal reform .................................................................................................................................. 31 SECTION SIX: Language,