Teachers Deserve Ranks Aligned with Their Qualifications

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing pointed out that basic education schools that meet the required standards must be systematically and neatly upgraded in accordance with the prescribed criteria.

Acting President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and Chairman of the State Security and Peace Commission Senior General Min Aung Hlaing delivered a speech at the meeting to coordinate the promotion of the education and health sectors at the meeting hall of the Office of the National Defence and Security Council yesterday afternoon.

In his address, the Senior General said that Myanmar needs a large number of basic education teachers, and in order to confer postgraduate degrees on teaching staff, it is necessary to upgrade teacher training colleges and education degree colleges to university status.

He continued that although every child who attends preschool goes on to attend primary school, not every child attending primary school has previously attended preschool. There are differences between the learning systems for children studying at KG+2 and KG+3 and those for young children taught at KG and KG+1. Therefore, it is necessary to implement age-appropriate teaching and learning systems that will support the education of children who enter KG and KG+1 without having attended preschool.

With regard to basic education schools, the Senior General emphasized that while some schools meet the required standards, others do not fully satisfy the necessary school facilities. Due to a lack of such standard compliance, some schools face difficulties in continuing the expansion and construction of school buildings.

He added that, in line with the advancing teaching systems and the increasing numbers of students, basic education schools that meet the required standards must be systematically and neatly upgraded in accordance with the prescribed criteria.

He highlighted that most civil servant families and households with ordinary incomes send their children to government schools. Therefore, government schools must be upgraded without fail, and priority must be given to ensuring that schools meet quality standards in education and that teachers are competent and well qualified.

The Senior General underscored that at the upper secondary level of basic education, not only are vocational subjects being taught, but plans are also in place to teach basic knowledge related to industry, agriculture, and livestock to students at the middle school level as well.

He noted that the State has granted entitlements in accordance with the academic qualifications of teachers. Similarly, it is necessary to provide entitlements to civil servants based on the degrees they have obtained, and to consider and implement measures to promote teachers to appropriate ranks commensurate with their qualifications.

With regard to healthcare personnel, the Senior General underlined that it is necessary to upgrade and open nursing schools in line with regions and states to support the development of the health sector. In hospitals, nurses are assigned duties according to different levels, and those assignments vary depending on the number of beds in each hospital. Therefore, it is necessary to classify grades according to the duties performed and to enhance the entitlements corresponding to each grade.

The Prime Minister, Union ministers and deputy ministers discussed successful operating of the industrial, agricultural and livestock basic education high schools, plans to conduct vocational courses for the youths who did not pass the matriculation examination, rank promotion of teachers depending on their grades, establishment of teacher training universities to uplift the education sector of the State, participation of relevant ministries to create the syllabuses for industrial, agricultural and livestock subjects, conducting the early child care courses for preschool teachers, scheming the budges for upgrading the basic education schools in financial years, and turning out nurses from nursing training schools and midwifery training schools to improve the health sector.

In response to the discussion, the Senior General gave guidance that physical training teachers must be appointed for basic education schools. Officials need to check foodstuffs at canteens of schools, whether these are healthy or not, universities need to be facilitated depending on criteria, and needs to encourage education promotion of ethnic youths from remote areas.

MNA/TTA

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