Amended law excludes autonomy, union recognition

An amended National Education Law was approved by Myanmar’s union parliament last week after months of student protests all over the country.

However, the latest version of the controversial law still excludes recognition of student and teachers’ unions – a key demand of students and teachers demonstrating against the Education Law passed in September 2014.

Both groups said they will continue fighting for the right to form unions and other demands such as greater autonomy for universities.

The original National Education Law was amended after the government was forced to back down in the face of wide-ranging criticism.

A four-party agreement reached in February between the government, parliament, student groups and civil society paved the way for parliament to amend the law with the drafting process lasting three months.

Arkar Moe Thu, a teachers association member, told University World News there were, however, many differences between the law passed by parliament last week and the terms agreed with the government in February.

Student groups also said that the government had broken its promises made during the four-party talks.

They said the new law – which would not have been amended without their protests – includes only references to participation by “student representatives” rather than the right to form unions – considered by the current military-led government to be a major taboo because of the role of student groups in opposing the government in the past.

The unions were abolished after the military government took over in the 1960s and students have been pressing for them to be legalised. Students said even under the new law student groups would only have the same status as other social organisations.

Autonomy

U Thein Lwin of the National Network for Education Reform, or NNER, which includes members of Aung San Suu Kyi’’s National League for Democracy party, said at a press conference on 20 June that the amended law passed by the union parliament on 18 June still did not include autonomy for universities. “We want autonomous education but the parliament approved a law that still [involves] central control,” he said.

He noted that there were changes to some of the wording but not the substance of the National Education Law, and he called for a stronger role for student unions in the country.

However, some amendments did make it into the new law. These included students having the right to apply for the university and course of their choice, and universities being given power to decide on admissions without taking into account high school leaving exams.

Myanmar’s president will send the draft law back to parliament next week. He has the right to call for certain amendments before it can be gazetted.

New protests?

Students groups said they would decide what to do once they know the exact details of the law. But Arkar Moe Thu said if students decided to protest about the law again, it would only be after the 2015 elections expected in November.

Zay Yar Lwin, a student union member and member of the Action Committee for Democratic Education, which took part in the four-party talks earlier in the year, said students would announce what action they will take after specific details of the new law have been made public and when it is clear how much autonomy universities will get.

“The education [reform] process won’t stop with this government. We will keep updating it during the next government. How much we can do for the education process will depend on the coming elections,” he said.

“Some students wanted to protest about this law but they have to point out the details they do not like. If they have a good reason, they have the right to protest,” said Si Thu Maung, founder of the Yangon Institute of Economics students’ union. “We are hoping for change in the country after the November election.”