THE dawn of the globalised era has forced many countries to reassess the effectiveness of their education systems and how they operate.

Myanmar established a thirty year education development plan in 2001-2002. The guiding vision was to create an education system that would create a learned society – one capable of facing the challenges of the Knowledge Age.

This established as a priority the expansion of schools to provide wider education in Myanmar. The number of primary, middle and high schools has now increased to 40,525 from 33,747 and they accommodate about eight million students.

The “Enrollment Week” campaign is now launched at the beginning of every academic year in an effort to entice as many students as possible into the school system. The government says this program is a success; kindergarten enrollments have increased to 96.56 percent, up from 76.13pc before the campaign was implemented.

Education in state schools consists of learning to write, read, speak and comprehend both Myanmar and English. Mathematical concepts, scientific ideas and the context of Myanmar’s geographical and historical position in the world are also taught.

While the quality of the education can be debated parents say the low cost is imperative for their children to be able to attend.

The approximate cost for one year of education in a state school is only about K10,000, according to parents from Yangon. This small contribution is generally spent on the development of the school.

“We pay nothing to the schools. But if you want to donate, you can offer some money to the schools,” said Daw Nwe, parent of a matriculation student in Pazundaung towship.

International schools in Myanmar, by comparison, are prohibitively expensive for most Myanmar parents. K70,000 a month is a standard price to pay for tuition fees at a school teaching a Singapore-modelled curriculum.

The students at these international schools study Myanmar, English, mathematics and social studies for the first four years, from grade one to grade four. In grade five, the basic concepts of geography and history are introduced to the curriculum.

From grade six students study six specific subjects: Myanmar, English, mathematics, Geography, History and Science, as well as “life skills”, which teaches a mixture of vocational skills, health education and traffic laws among other things.

Most students now also have the opportunity to learn computer skills and information technology.

Students up to grade eight take a test at the end of every month but do not sit examinations. Grade nine, 10 and 11 (matriculation level) have to pass both the monthly tests and a final examination.

This system of monthly tests at the state schools was introduced with the educational development plan. Formerly all students had to sit a final examination.

“Today’s students are not like when we were attending state school. They have less stress because of the changes to exams,” said Daw Cho Cho in Bahan township, who studied to grade six level. Many parents now also send their children to extra tuition classes, to help them learn the school curriculum more closely. This can cost anywhere from K3,000 to K30,000 a month.

Daw Myint Myint, who studied to grade nine, said she wanted her son to complete his matriculation.

“My son is in grade nine, I was also grade nine. Parents who care about education hope their children learn the entire curriculum, from kindergarten to matriculation,” she said.

An important moment in the life of some students and parents is the release of the matriculation exam score, which decides the university the student will attend.

The more popular courses are medicine, engineering, information technology and marine studies, which can all ensure a high-paying job for life.

Moreover, the matriculation score is also recognised by international universities if students desire to further their education abroad.The role of state school education is now seen in Myanmar as important as it is a stepping stone for the students’ life.