THE Ministry of Education this month started a biweekly testing program in all grade nine through 11 basic education classrooms in Myanmar with the aim of producing higher quality students.

All students in grades nine through 11 are now required to take 15-minute tests every two weeks in each of the following subjects: Myanmar, English, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, economics, history and geography.
Each state school has formed a special board to check the students’ test answers and conduct progress evaluations, which will be submitted to the Department of Basic Education under the Ministry of Education.

“The new program will encourage students to work hard on their lessons, which will help make them more highly qualified by the time they graduate,” said U Kyaw Kyaw, principal of Basic Education High School (1) in Dagon township.

The program is a part of government’s 30-year National Education Plan started during the 2001-2002 academic year to promote education standards in Myanmar to international levels.

Since then, the ministry has collaborated with social organisations to implement new programs in schools, including phasing out final examinations for students in grades one through seven in favour of monthly tests.

“This has taken the pressure off young students and made them happier, which has increased enrolment and decreased dropout rates,” U Kyaw Kyaw said. “But we have also increased the qualifications for students at the high school level.”

“The new biweekly testing program is really good for the students because it will help them focus on their studies and understand their lessons better,” said Daw Win Yi, principal of Basic Education High School (2) in Bahan township. “It means the teachers are busier, but it will increase the pass rate for final exams at our school.”