Education Reforms in Myanmar before COVID-19: Basic and Teacher Education

Myanmar has tried to improve its basic and teacher education system since they are crucial for quality education. This article aims to comprehensively explain the reforms in Myanmar’s education, including basic and teacher education, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this article explains the long and complex political history and describes how basic and teacher education have changed along with the political settings. The data are illustrated using document analysis focusing on the circumstances of basic and teacher education in Myanmar by capturing the situation before starting the reforms in 2016 and the education reforms based on the National Education Strategic Plan (NESP) (2016-21). In 2011, the civilian government conducted a comprehensive education sector review of the entire system after assuming political power that included an analysis of preschools, basic education, TVET, and higher education. The results of this review became a roadmap for establishing a quality education program called the NESP (2016-21). Based on this plan, many reforms were implemented in different educational sectors. First, basic education was reformed by improving access to quality inclusive education, curricula, and student assessments. Second, teacher education has been promoted by ensuring a teacher quality assurance system, upgrading pre-service teacher education in education degree colleges, establishing a teacher competence framework, and introducing short- and long-term revision programs for in-service teachers. Myanmar attempted to provide quality education through basic and teacher education reforms before COVID-19. If all the NESP targets had been achieved, all Myanmar’s children would have had access to quality learning through the relevant curriculum for the 21st century by qualified teachers.