THE Myanmar saying, ‘Education is the only treasure that cannot be stolen by a thief’ is reflected in the importance that parents and teachers place on providing an education that will equip children with the tools they will need to succeed in the working world.

Daw Khin Myint Myint, one of Myanmar’s most successful businesswomen and the managing director of Aung Aung Enterprise, Ltd., said that giving her children a good education allowed her to rest assured that they were ready to face the real world when they grew up.

IT is said that today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders. If so, questions immediately arise about the best time to start moulding their futures to help them reach their potentials, and the best methods to use to do so.“Research shows that of all periods of your child’s life, the years between three and five are the most important in your child’s growth and development,” says Mr Murat Kucukdugenci, the principal of Horizon International Kindergarten in Yangon.

A 17-year-old high school student is sitting at her desk, studying a pile of textbooks for her final matriculation exam at the Basic Education State High School (1) in Kyauktada township in Yangon.“It is an exciting moment,” says Ma Phyu Phyu, worried about how she will perform on the exam, which will be given in March. She has been studying day and night in preparation.

EVERY year after the results of the matriculation exams are released, the students with high marks begin considering which university they will attend.For those who want to earn a degree in a short time without quitting their job, the University of Distance Education may be one of the best choices.

In Myanmar many institutions of higher learning, such as Yangon University and Dagon University, offer classes under the government’s Human Resource Development program, which have become increasingly popular among those interested in gaining managerial and other skills that will help make them more competitive in the job market.

AMONG the important considerations when deciding which university or college to attend is the cost of the program. Although many institutions of higher learning may seem too expensive, a wide range of scholarships is available to help outstanding students pursue their dreams of continuing their education beyond matriculation, regardless of their financial situation.

THE third edition of the annual Thailand International Education Exhibition was aimed at promoting Thailand as the centre of international education in Southeast Asia and maximising confidence in the quality of international education in the country.

The first international diploma course to be offered in Myanmar was the International Diploma in Computer Studies (IDCS), started in 1993 as a joint project of the Yangon University of Computer Studies, KMD Computer Centre and Myanmar Computer Company (MCC) in partnership with NCC Education in Britain.

EDUCATION is part and parcel of the human struggle for survival and enlightenment. It is said that the earliest educational processes involved sharing information about gathering food and providing shelter; making tools and weapons; learning language; and acquiring the values, behaviour and religious rites or practices of a given culture.

The government’s University of Foreign Languages offers classes in Asian languages, such as Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Thai, and in western languages like English, Russian, French and German. Myanmar language classes are also available to foreigners.

About 700 students are now studying French at the Yangon branch of Alliance Française, an association that was founded in Paris more than 100 years ago to promote the French language and culture. About one-third of the students are planning to study abroad, while the rest say they will seek jobs in Myanmar as interpreters or tour guides.

The head of the university’s Library and Information Studies Department, Professor Thein Lwin, said 50 students had enrolled in the course last year and in 2003, up from about 30 in 1997 and 20 in 1971, when it was launched.

This rising demand has been accompanied by the appearance of a wide variety of language classes in Yangon. Many of them charge high fees for access to modern teaching facilities, while some students pay teachers to come to their homes to receive special attention and more instruction.

“We mainly teach poor or orphaned children and our role is important because it is their only opportunity to acquire an education,” said the secretary of the supervisory board for monastic education in Yangon Division, Venerable Sayadaw Vasanda Kusala.