Students' Situation under the Military
Dictatorship
(18/2000)
In the hand of the current junta, the
situation of the students and
schools are
becoming worse. We, the Foreign Affairs' Committee (Bakatha)
would like
to express the current situation of the Basic Education High
School
(BEHS) No.1, Mingalartaungnyunt township, Rangoon as an example.
School
Attendance
The
classrooms of BEHS No .1, Mingalertaugnyunt Township, Rangoon are being
prepared,
because Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt will arrive at the school and open
the
multimedia classroom. For that reason, the students are attending only
one day a
week. Most of the students are not caring to learn in the
classroom
and are relying on tuition. Moreover, they are relying on
answering
" the spot question " during examinations. One student has to
spend at
least 3000 kyat a month for tuition.
School
Situation
During
recent school terms, the former head master of the school, U Tun Kyi
abused the
school funds. As a result, he was dismissed form his post and
some
teachers were transferred. A car repair workshop has been allowed to
open for the
school fund in the grounds of the school and the noise of the
workshop
makes the students annoyed when they attend the school. Although
the teachers
established some canteens for the students' welfare, the
prices at
the canteen are higher than other restaurants selling outside of
the school.
Each student has to donate at least 3000 Kyat in order to
establish a
multimedia classroom in the school.
Character of
the Students
A student
attending the sixth standard in this school was dismissed because
of selling
ganja and a student attending the eighth standard in the same
school, was
also dismissed for holding a knife. After his dismissal, the
eighth
standard student threatened other students with the knife and robbed
them of
their money. Therefore, the head master of the school and some
students arrested
and sent him to a police station.
According to
a group of (Basic Education Student
Union) BESU based inside
Burma, the
students are going to be examined for the first test and the
students and
their parents are very worried about the education system.
Foreign
Affairs' Committee
All Burma
Federation of Student Unions.
9, October
2000.