A conference on drafting Higher Education Laws led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the chairwoman of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and representative of the Pyithu Hluttaw (Union Parliament Lower House) ignored the topic of ethnic language teaching.
The conference, held on 26 May in Nay Pyi Taw, was focused on drafting laws for higher education.
It was held because the Amyotha Hluttaw would be discussing education law and drawing up a separate law for higher education, according to Ko Tin Htoo Aung, of Mon State Students’ Union, who attended the conference as an observer.
He said: “They [the conference] have negotiated and discussed the higher education bill from the beginning to end. Because it is for the higher education bill, I did not hear any discussion for a section regarding teaching ethnic languages. I do not think Daw Suu will fully support the eleven points we have demanded. For our ethnic language teaching, our ethnic students’ unions must urge both the Hluttaw and those who are now working for higher education section [to provide ethnic language teaching]."
According to activists for the education law issue, the Hluttaw representatives and those [lawmakers] who are drawing education law recognized that at the moment, it’s [not] yet possible to grant ethnic groups the capacity to teach their native ethnic languages.
At the conference, only the representatives of NLD and Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) participated in the discussion, while some representatives from the student groups, including Maung Zeyar Lwin, Maung Nan Lin, Maung Ye Zarni Htun, Maung Tin Htoo Aung and Ma Eain Po Chit, were also present at the conference but only as observers.
