Burma rulers prepare to open colleges
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Your support makes all the difference.THE BURMESE government is poised to reopen the nation's universities, which have been closed for the past two years since students mounted pro- democracy demonstrations.
Lieutenant-Colonel Hla Min, the government's de facto spokesman, told The Independent that he estimated the universities could open "in two to three months' time". He said that although politicians had "done much to incite the students", he believed "most students are apolitical" and there was little concern about protests breaking out again.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, is also concerned about the lack of education, and says that if the universities reopen she does "not see any reason why there should be unrest unless there is cause for it".
Burma's universities have been closed for all but two of the past ten years. A serious education gap is emerging in the country, an evident concern to the government. "Kids are worried, parents are worried," said Lt-Col Hla Min.
Final-year examinations for students, who have had no classes for two years, have just been held. It is widely rumoured that all students sitting these tests will pass them, regardless of ability. Exams will then be held for other years and, to cope with the backlog, classes will be doubled up.
The government was still sufficiently nervous over readmitting students to university campuses to organise the exams in schools where smaller groups of students could be controlled more easily.
There is also a crisis in the schools, where a combination of poverty and lack of resources has led to an alarming drop-out rate at primary- school level.
"Children are happier when they go out to work because they can earn money and contribute something to their families," said a worker with a non-governmental organisation that has child-oriented projects.
She said that those staying at school are faced with demoralised teachers who are not paid enough to survive on their school salaries. "The whole quality of education has broken down," she added. "The children are trained by rote learning, they are not encouraged to think."
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