THE Myanmar Education Research Bureau recently issued a landmark publication: An Account of the Myamar Literacy Promotion Movement.

The authors begin with a consideration of literacy in Myanmar during pre-colonial times and cite praise from foreign visitors about the contribution made by Buddhist monastery schools.

For example, J.R. Andrus (in Burmese Economic Life, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 1946, pp. 36-37), wrote: “The Buddhist monastic school helped to give Burma a rate of literacy considerably above those of other Far Eastern countries. In 1931, 56 per cent of the males over the age of five and 16.5 per cent of the females were literate – approximately four times as high as those reported for India at the same time. If Burmans alone are considered the literacy rate is 71.7 per cent for males and 21 per cent for females.”

In 1931, Mr J.S.Furnivall wrote: “A hundred years ago the First English Commissioner reported that almost everyone could read and write and, even if this report may have been touched with exaggeration, it is certain that the proportion of people who could read and write was for higher than in England.”

The British colonial education system destroyed the centuries old monastery education indirectly, and thus impeded the growth of literacy among the masses, especially among people in rural areas. They did this by creating three kinds of schools – Vernacular Schools for the rural masses, Anglo-Vernacular Schools designed to produce clerks for trading firms with a smattering of English and knowledge of accounts, and English Schools run by missionaries who made it mandatory for students to study Christianity with their school work.

The Japanese invasion of Burma during World War Two had unexpected benefits. For one thing, it destroyed completely the British imposed education system of Vernacular, Anglo-Vernacular and English schools and substituted only one language – Burmese, as the sole medium of instruction.

With the attainment of Independence on January 4, 1948, the Government announced its Education Policy and Parliament passed the Mass Education Act, which came into force in March 1949. A Mass Education Council was formed and Mass Education Councils were opened throughout the country, beginning with 20 centres in 1949-50 costing K200,000 and increasing to 332 centres in 1954-55, involving spending of K5 million.

A literacy campaign was initiated in 1965 with trials conducted until 1968.

During this period 6551 villages mobilised 48,398 volunteer teachers and made 164,491 individuals fully literate and 151,682 almost literate.

The campaign was formally launched in 1969, with townships in Meiktila district having the honour of being chosen for this historic mission. Since that time the campaign has been gradually extended to cover other areas. The strategy adopted by the campaign may be characterized as: A mass movement with community participation, using local resources on a voluntary basis in designated areas throughout the year until the whole campaign area becomes literate.

These achievements, made possible by voluntary mass participation and contributions by students from universities, colleges, institutes and local literate people, were given recognition by UNESCO which awarded Myanmar with two literacy prizes: The Mohamed Reza Pahlevi Prize in 1971 for the voluntary participation of students and youths and the Noma Prize in 1983 for post literacy literature and activities.

The details of this endeavour are chronicled in An Account of the Myanmar Literacy Promotion Movement published by the Myanmar Education Bureau. It is a noteworthy achievement and deserves a close study by anyone interested in the history of Myanmar education.

The Myanmar Naing Ngan Education Committee began launching literacy campaigns in 1996. The committee’s strategy for realising its goal of literacy for all, by linking it with targets for the universalisation of primary education and life Education, is outlined in the 30-year Educational Promotion Plan.

Literacy campaigns have been launched by Township Literacy Committees under their respective District and States/Divisions Fon-Formal Education Committees. One notable modification is that greater attention is being accorded to remote and border areas than in the past, when national groups had no access to learning facilities.

The achievements obtained so far are the result of tireless efforts made by local volunteers and such organisations as the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), the Myanmar National Committee for Women’s Affairs (MNCWA), and the Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association (MMCWA), as well as the Departments of Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs, and the Department of Basic Education.

According to the latest statistics, the literacy rate for the country is 93.3 percent, which places it among the top leading nations in Asia. In addition, Community Learning Centres are being formed by local committees with technical assistance from the Myanmar Education Research Bureau to maintain the skills of the newly literate and and enhance post-literacy activities.

At this rate, Myanmar may well realise the goal of ‘Literacy for All’ before 2015, the target year set by the United Nations and UNESCO.