Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

‘Forgotten’ democracy, student activism, and higher education in Myanmar: past, present, and future

  • Published:
Asia Pacific Education Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper is a historical examination of higher education in contemporary Myanmar, and its relationship to the students, the most important and visible actor in higher education. Reflecting upon dramatic socio-political transitions from the five decades of military rule to partly constitutional democracy that led to major reform and liberation in education, this paper traces the development and destruction of generations of student activists in major Higher Education Institutions since 1962, as well as the emergence of a new generation of youth who are deeply disconnected with their history since 2010. By examining major literature combined with direct observations and in-depth interviews in Myanmar, the authors argue that celebrating heroic student activists is perhaps essential in order to mobilize the public to remember the historical importance of democratization in Myanmar, but it is, at the same time, dangerous to only emphasize the stories of ‘student heroes and martyrs’ without deeply questioning the vulnerabilities of education philosophy, policy, and the very meaning of higher education institutions against regime changes. By examining the exogenous relations with democracy in the wider society of Myanmar, it argues that the future of democracy can only be nurtured, debated, and learned when the endogenous relations to democracy of Myanmar in higher education institutions within are valued.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Naming debates on the Republic of the Union of Myanmar as Myanmar or Burma have been heated political disputes. In this research, both Burma and Myanmar can be found in the text. Burma is used when describing the country prior to 1989 when the name of the country was officially changed. The detailed historical and political debates between the country’s name in the political, diplomatic, and socio-cultural arena can be found in Michael Aung-Twin’s (2008) article, “Mranma Pran: When Context Encounters Notions.”

  2. The terms, higher education and higher education institutions are understood and applied differently in various countries. Also, the roles and responsibilities of higher education institutions varies based on the academic, social, and industrial demands as well as the visions foundations and types of institutions.

  3. The main unit of analysis above and time periods are further developed based on the earlier works of Hong (2017, 2018), who reorganized Myanmar's social transformation in an educational context, divided Myanmar's modern education history into seven phases.

  4. It comprised of five parliamentarians, five retired senior academics, two senior officials from the MOE, the Rector of YU, head of Department of International Relations and Industrial Chemistry, respectively.

  5. Identity of student activists and their learning about politics and student movements had developed within underground networks of activist groups at transnational, national, and regional levels since the 1990s into the 2000s. Some of the former student activists in exile who entered political or civil society organizations evolved to form networks with other activists and to contribute to political changes in Myanmar. They attempted to play a strong role in the Saffron Revolution (2007) and student demonstrations for education reform (2015), but their role as political challengers has weakened because of the official absence of university student council and diverging perspective of different student groups.

  6. National Network for Education Reform (NEER) is a coalition among non-governmental organizations, which consists of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Education Network, The 88 Generation students, Thinking Classroom, Student unions, Teachers unions, Religious organizations.

  7. See a unique article, Students and Teachers as Agents of National Reconciliation in Burma by Rosalie Metro (2016). By conducting semi-structured interviews and collaborative workshops with private school student teachers and students in Yangon as well as in community centers in the Thai-Burma border, she identified ethnic discrimination, language barriers, teaching methods, corruption in schools as possible obstacles to education reform in Myanmar.

  8. According the ABFSU, the Unions have tried to change the current structure of parliamentary structures that control education policy and system, so that the civilian groups have more actual influences over the country’s politics than the military (ABFSU, interview, 10 August 2018).

  9. The Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP) is a civil society organization formed by former political prisoners who participated in the 8888 uprising. They collect information about other political prisoners arrested during and after the 8888 uprising (1988), the Saffron Revolution (2007), the student march (2015), and other political activities, and give trainings and lectures on human rights and democratization.

  10. Susan Banki (2016)’s recent article, Transnational Activism as Practised by Activists from Burma: Negotiating Precarity, Mobility and Resistance highlights recent changes in the nature, practices, and strategies of Burmese transnational activism in the post-2011 period. The article does not particularly focus on student’s activism per se. However, it provides an important insight on the ‘exile activism’ or more accurately activism outside of Burma had been disconnected and collaborated at the same time with ‘homelands’ democratic movements. While it depicts how Burmese transitional activisms have shown diverse and often conflicting views of the national reform around 2010, it also provides some critical insights how democratic movements within Myanmar would take diversified and conflicting ways in near future.

  11. In post-war Asia, the absence of political infrastructure absorbed students’ discontent. In particular, in Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand, students commonly engaged in macro level activism during Suharto’s New Order Regime dictatorship in Indonesia (1965–1998), Park Chung Hyee and Chun Doo Hawn’s military governments in the Republic of Korea (1961–1987), and the military regime of Sarit and Thanom in Thailand (1957–1973) (Koon-Hong 2014). Literature in regard to the dynamics between political and social changes, higher education institutions and student activism are relatively well recorded in various Korean literature.

Abbreviations

AAPP:

The Assistance Association of Political Prisoners

ABFSU:

All Burma Federation of Student Unions

BWPP:

Burmese Way to Socialism Party

BSPP:

Burma Socialist Programme Party

CESR:

Comprehensive Education Sector Review

EPIC:

Education Promotion Implementation Committee

HE:

Higher education

HEIs:

Higher Education Institutions

HREIB:

Human Rights Education Institute of Burma

NESP:

National Education Strategic Plan 2016–2021

NNER:

National Network for Education Reform

NLD:

National League for Democracy

MoE:

Ministry of Education

SLORC:

The State Law and Order Restoration Council

SPDC:

Sector State Peace & Development Council

UNESCO:

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

YTU:

Yangon University of Technology

YU:

Yangon University

Interviews cited

  • Min Ko Naing. The 88 Generation Peace and Open Society. (2018, August 9). Personal interview.

  • Interviewee 1, All Burma Federations of Student Unions. (2018, August 10). Personal interview.

  • Interviewee 1, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. (2018, August 12). Personal interview.

  • Interviewee 2, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. (2018, August 12). Personal interview.

  • Interviewee 3, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. (2018, August 12). Personal interview.

References

  • Alamgir, J. (1997). Against the current: The survival of authoritarianism in Burma. Pacific Affairs, 70(3), 333–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Altbach, P. G. (1970). Student movements in historical perspective: The Asian case. Youth & Society, 1(3), 333–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Altbach, P. G. (1979). From revolution to apathy—American student activism in the 1970s. Higher Education, 8(6), 609–626.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Altbach, P. G. (1984). Student politics in the third world. Higher Education, 13(6), 635–655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Altbach, P. G. (1989). Perspectives on student political activism. Comparative Education, 25(1), 97–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amonoo-Neizer, E. H. (1998). Universities in Africa—the need for adaptation, transformation, reformation and revitalization. Higher Education Policy, 11(4), 301–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Apple, M. W., & Beane, J. A. (1995). Democratic schools. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aung-Twin, M. (2008). Mranma pran: When context encounters notion. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 39(2), 193–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakke, E. W. (1967). Roots and soil of student activism. In S. M. Lipset (Ed.), Student politics (pp. 54–73). New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banki, S. (2016). Transnational activism as practised by activists from Burma: Negotiating precarity, mobility and resistance. In R. Egreteau & F. Robinne (Eds.), Metamorphosis: Studies in social and political change in Myanmar (pp. 234–259). Singapore: NUS Press in Association with Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boland, J. A. (2005). Student participation in shared governance: a means of advancing democratic values? Tertiary Education and Management, 11(3), 199–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boudreau, V. (2002). State repression and democracy protest in three Southeast Asian countries. In D. S. Meyer, N. Whittier, & B. Robnett (Eds.), Social movements: Identity, culture, and the state (pp. 28–46). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, R., Byford, K., & Sela, K. (2015). The changing role of students’ unions within contemporary higher education. Journal of Education Policy, 30(2), 165–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charney, M. W. (2009). A history of modern Burma. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Clymer, M. (2003). Min Ko Naing, “Conqueror Of Kings” Burma’s student leader. Journal of Burma Studies, 8(1), 33–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisinger, P. K. (1973). The conditions of protest behavior in American cities. American Political Science Review, 67(1), 11–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Englund, T. (2002). Higher education, democracy and citizenship—The democratic potential of the university? Studies in Philosophy and Education, 21(4–5), 281–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esson, J., & Wang, K. (2018). Reforming a university during political transformation: A case study of Yangon University in Myanmar. Studies in Higher Education, 43(7), 1184–1195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feuer, L. S. (1969). The conflict of generations: The character and significance of student movements. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fink, C. (2009). Living silence: Burma under military rule (2nd ed.). London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giroux, H. (2002). Neoliberalism, corporate culture, and the promise of higher education: The university as a democratic public sphere. Harvard Educational Review, 72(4), 425–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harber, C. (2002). Democracy and authoritarianism in education. Comparative Education, 38(3), 267–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harber, C., & Mncube, V. (2012). Education, democracy and development: Does education contribute to democratization in developing countries? Oxford: Symposium Books.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hong, M. (2017). Being and becoming dropouts: Contextualizing dropout experiences of youth migrant workers in transitional Myanmar. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Seoul National University.

  • Hong, M. (2018). An analysis of the policy-knowledge-power dynamics in higher education reform in transitional Myanmar. Korean Journal of Comparative Education, 28(3), 135–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Institute of International Education. (2013). Investing in the future: Rebuilding higher education in Myanmar. New York: Institute of International Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jang, J. (2012a). Reform and opening-up in Myanmar: Grounds and prospects. In Jeju Peace Institute Policy Forum (pp. 1–15).

  • Jang, J. (2012b). Solidarity and split of Myanmar’s democratic movement: An political cultural interpretation. The Southeast Asia Review, 22(2), 235–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jang, J. (2017). Myanmar in 2016: Starting of new era, but uncertain future. The Southeast Asian Review, 27(2), 185–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, A. V. (2003). The idea of a university revisited. Irish Educational Studies, 22(2), 101–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kyi, K. M. (2000). Economic development of Burma: A vision and a strategy. The Journal of Politics and Society, 18, 561–562.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koon-Hong, D. C. (2014). Legacy of the fighting peacock: Analyzing the role of student activism in Burmese democratic movements. The Journal of Politics and Society, 25, 71–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipset, S. M. (1964). University students and politics in underdeveloped countries. Minerva, 3(1), 15–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lwin, T. (2017). Comments on the National Education Strategic Plan (2016–2021) of the Ministry of Education, Myanmar. Myanmar: National Network for Education Reform.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, M. A. (2012). Occupying higher education: The revival of the student movement. New Labor Forum, 21(2), 50–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGinn, N. F., & Epstein, E. H. (1999). Comparative Perspectives on the role of education in democratization. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metro, R. (2016). Students and teachers as agents of democratization and national reconciliation in Burma: Realities and possibilities. In R. Egreteau & F. Robinne (Eds.), Metamorphosis: Studies in social and political change in Myanmar (pp. 209–233). Singapore: NUS Press in Association with Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education of Myanmar. (1971). Education in the union of Burma: Statistical presentation in progress of education (1960–1970). In Third Regional Conference of Ministries of Education and Those Responsible for Economic Planning in Asia. UNESCO, Myanmar.

  • Ministry of Education of Myanmar. (1977). Development of education in Buram 1975–1976. In 36th Session of the International Conference on Education. UNESCO, Myanmar.

  • Ministry of Education of Myanmar. (1979). Development of education in Burma. In 37th Session of the International Conference on Education. UNESCO, Myanmar.

  • Ministry of Education of Myanmar. (2013). Comprehensive education sector review (CESR) phase 1. Myanmar: Ministry of Education of Myanmar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education of Myanmar. (2016). National Education Strategic Plan 2016–2021. Myanmar: Ministry of Education of Myanmar.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Network for Education Reform. (2014). NNER’s position regarding its loss of faith in the government and Ministry of Education’s education reform process. Myanmar: National Network for Education Reform.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M. (2002). Education for citizenship in an era of global connection. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 21, 289–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silverstein, J., & Wohl, J. (1964). University students and politics in Burma. Pacific Affairs, 37, 50–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slater, D. (2009). Revolutions, crackdowns, and quiescence: Communal elites and democratic mobilization in Southeast Asia. American Journal of Sociology, 115(1), 203–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, D. I. (2001). Burma: The state of Myanmar. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, D. I. (2013). Burma/Myanmar: What everyone needs to know (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarrow, S. G. (2011). Power in movement: Social movements and contentious politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Thant, M.-U. (2006). The river of lost footsteps: Histories of Burma. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilly, C. (1978). From mobilization to revolution. Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, M., & Mkwananzi, F. (2015). Challenges in accessing higher education: A case study of marginalised young people in one South African informal settlement. International Journal of Educational Development, 40, 40–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zar Ni. (1998). Knowledge, control, and power: the politics of education under the burma’s military dictatorship (1962–1988). Unpublished PhD dissertation. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are also grateful to Hyo-Je Cho, Taekyoon Kim, Jo Lo Bianco, U Thein Lwin and reviewers for generously sharing their time and providing precious feedback at critical moments of research. First and foremost, we would like to thank all participants, especially students and education activists who shared their insights and often personal experiences in uneasy political transitions. We are also grateful to Hyo-Je Cho, Taekyoon Kim, Jo Lo Bianco, and U Thein Lwin for generously sharing their time and providing precious feedback at critical moments of research. For an international and comparative researcher, working between various languages such as English, Myanmar, and Korean is an integral part of research. In this regard, we are indebted to Kristina Dziedzic Wright, Lilian Cohen, and Daw Ni Ni Aung for language advice and verifications of some translated manuscripts.

Funding

This research was supported by the Emerging Scholars Program, the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) [Grant Number 2017S1A5A8019850].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

    Moon Suk Hong & Hani Kim

Authors
  1. Moon Suk Hong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hani Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Moon Suk Hong.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hong, M.S., Kim, H. ‘Forgotten’ democracy, student activism, and higher education in Myanmar: past, present, and future. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev. 20, 207–222 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-019-09593-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-019-09593-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation