On June 26th, 2000 the schools were re-opened to students in their last year of study and on July 24th,
2000, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) stated that the schools are planned to re-open for
the remaining students. Though most universities and colleges in Burma have been closed down since 1988,
SPDC has decided to re-open the country's universities and colleges. After carefully reviewing the terms and
conditions involved in the re-opening of the schools, the Campaign Committee for Open Schools has decided
to continue its efforts to promote the unconditional re-opening of universities and colleges as well as educa-
tional reform at all levels of education. Following are the reasons why the Campaign Committee believes that
the conditions of the recent re-opening of schools is unacceptable and therefore chooses to continue with the
campaign.
Since 1988, the schools have not been re-opened for a steady school term. The SPDC has repeatedly closed
schools with no regards to the year long school term. The universities and colleges of Burma have been
opened for only thirty months since 1988 until now. In 1994 the SPDC introduced the four month school
term, in which a year's worth of instruction was shortened to a mere four months. This severely compromises
the quality of education. The SPDC has recently re-opened the classes for the final year students but has fur-
ther shortened the school term to a three month period at the end of which the students are given their final
examinations. These final examinations mark the end of the school term at which time, the schools are again
shut down until the following year.
Even though Burma's Universities and Colleges are to be open, the SPDC is still prioritising their own military
institutes. While the country's schools are lacking funds and resources, the military institutes benefit from
brand new, state of the art facilities, and adequate funds and resources for its students. These military insti-
tutes have remained opened even when the rest of the country's universities have been closed. This division
between civil and military education is very dangerous for the country's future. Burma has become a house
divided between pro-military and non-military supporters. The military institutes being the only way to get a
decent education, only pro-military students have a future and are guaranteed work opportunities, while the
rest of the country's youth is left, uneducated, to fend for themselves, often falling into the hands of poverty.
This division assures the SPDC that only its supporters will be educated and hold the important jobs in society
in the future, therefore prolonging its control over the country. In order to ensure equal opportunity in educa-
tion for all students, the prioritising of military institutes must be abolished. The universities all across the
country must receive equal funding and resources.
Students have always been viewed as a threat to the military regime and are considered the most vocal
group of opposition. Therefore, the military is sacrificing the youth's future in order to prolong its tyrannical
reign. Since the bloody military coup in 1988, the junta has been systematically ruining the education system
of Burma. Students are the most effected class in the country because not only have they been denied of
their education, but they also have been denied of fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and expres-
sion. Evidence of the military's wrath against the students is that in the past, every time students unite to
voice their demands, the schools are immediately shut down. Due to these circumstances, the standard of
education has deteriorated in Burma that the international community no longer recognises it.
In order to attend the re-opened universities and colleges, students are forced to sign an oath of loyalty to
the military regime, swearing to not engage in any political activities, for fear of being expelled. The military
is placed on high alert at the present among the universities' campuses in case of possible student uprisings.
This is a direct infringement on student rights and freedom of education. Students are not able to demand
their rights or have a voice in their education much less study in a stable and non- threatening environment.
(Continued on page 13)
Position Paper on Recent Re-Opening of Schools in Burma
By the Campaign Committee for Open School, 24 July 2000
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