Education In Burma
The educational system of Burma is operated by the government Ministry of Education. Universities and professional institutes from upper Burma and lower Burma are run by two separate entities, the Departments of Higher Education (Lower Burma and Upper Burma), whose office headquarters are based in Yangon and Mandalay respectively. The education system is based on the United Kingdom's system, due to nearly a century of British and Christian presences in Burma.
"The first Government high school was founded by the British colonial administration in 1874. Two years later, this Government High School was upgraded and became University College, Rangoon." Nearly all schools are government-operated, but recently, there has been an increase in privately funded schools (which specialise in English). Schooling is compulsory until the end of elementary school, probably about 9 years old, while the compulsory schooling age is 15 or 16 at international level.
The literacy rate of Burma, according the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (2005) stands at 89.7% (males: 93.7%, females: 86.2%), although there is dispute over the accuracy of the provided literacy rates. The annual budget allocated to education by the government is low; only about 1.2% is spent per year on education. English is taught as a second language from Kindergarten.
Most of the early mission schools are since 1860 (such as La Salle schools) in Burma were nationalized on April 1, 1965 after the order restoration of general Ne Win.
Read more about Education In Burma: History, Uniform, Preschool and Kindergarten, Primary Education, Secondary Education, Tertiary Education
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