BURMA: Poor forced to pay for basic education [Kao Wao News]
- Taramon and Lita Davidson
Where only 40% of the population complete primary education in Burma; students, mostly from poor subsistence based families in Mon State have had to fork over extra fees in the new school term, which started this month, a source from Mudon Township said.
"The entrance fees are 4,000 Kyats, in which students pay for the upkeepof the school which includes repairing it," a township resident from Mudoncity said. "They pay not in cash but by donating materials needed torepair the school, such as cement, logs, and galvanized iron sheets or they cannot attend," he added.
The school entrance fees vary in different areas in Mon State. Some schools in Mudon and Thanbyu Zayat townships charge 2,500 Kyats for primary school, 2,980 Kyats for middle school and 3,600 to 41,000 Kyats
for high school.
But every student in Hnee PaDol village, southern Mudon Township, paysabout 6,700 Kyats which includes repairing the school.
In Pa-An Township, Karen State, the fee is much higher than in Mon State."The Secondary (Middle) school fee is 5,250 Kyats each and I can't afford it. So I've had to pull my children out of school," said Ms. Mi Mya, a mother of four children.
Students at the Thai-Burma border town also pay a higher fee for their basic education. At Three Pagodas Pass border town, opposite Karnchanaburi, the fee for primary school is 180 Thai Baht; middle school 250; and high school 300 Baht. Apart from these entrance fees, parents must buy textbooks and other materials for the schools.
Normally, students at primary schools spend 315 Baht for middle school, 600 and 1,000 Baht for high school, said a student's parent.
Since 1990 the Burmese government's spending on social sector services has steadily declined, one of the lowest levels of public investment in the world (Source: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/).
12:04:34 PM 
|
|
