Myanmar

Bagan

Member Since 1973

Partner Ministry/Organization

Ministry of Education

Recent Programs Held

2018: (1) In-Country Program on Industry – Academia Collaboration & Partnership (May 7-11); (2) Customized Program on Quality Assurance through Results Based Monitoring and Evaluation (May 15- 18)

2015: In-Country Program on Strategic Planning of TVET Institutions (Jan 12-16)

2012: (1) Special In-Country Program on Champion Leaders Development Program for TVET Skills for Poverty Alleviation (Mar 18-22); (2) In-Country Program on Curriculum Development for Technical Education (Oct 1-5)

Address of Embassy/Consulate in Manila

8th Floor, Gervasia Corporate Centre, 152 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City, Metro Manila

Country Flag

Official Name

Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Land Area

676,578 km2 (261,228 sq mi) (40th)

Population

54,806,012 (27th)

Capital

Naypyidaw (est. pop. 925,000)

Largest Cities

Yangon (est. pop. 4,477,638)
Mandalay (est. pop. 1,208,099)
Mawlamyine (est. pop. 438,861)
Kyain Seikgyi Township (est. pop. 246,065)

Country Borders

China (North), Thailand (East, Southeast), India (West), Bangladesh (West), Laos (East)

Religion/s

Theravada Buddhism

Major Languages

Burmese, Kashin, Kayah, Karen, Chin, Mon, Rakhine, Shan

Demonym

Burmese/Myanmar

National Holidays

4 January 1948 (Independence from the United Kingdom)

Education Basic Facts

No. of Years of Primary Education

Major Universities

Yezin Agricultural University, Yangon University, Mandalay University, Yangon Technological University, University of Computer Studies, Yangon

Primary School Enrollment (Total)

112.31% (UNESCO, 2018)

Tertiary School Enrollment (Total)

18.8% (UNESCO, 2018)

Ministry/ Ministries Supervising Education

Ministry of Education

Education as % of GDP

2% (UNESCO, 2019)

TVET

Agency Handling TVET

Government Technical High Schools and Government Technical Institutes under the Ministry of Education

Type of institution	Education level	Ministry responsible	Number of institutions
Government Technical Institutes	Post-Secondary Non-tertiary	Ministry of Education	22
Government Technical High Schools	Upper Secondary	Ministry of Education	32

Note: figure from TVET Country Profiles: Myanmar. (October, 2018). UNESCO. Retrieved May 20, 2019 form: https://unevoc.unesco.org/wtdb/worldtvetdatabase_mmr_en.pdf

TVET System of Myanmar

Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is one of the six focal areas of the Comprehensive Education Sector Review (CESR). Myanmar since its importance on raising the country’s overall level of social and economic development by producing highly competent skilled laborers. The TVET sector is currently being reviewed by the TVET Sub-working Groups participated by 19 Ministries.

Figure 1: TVET System in Myanmar. Note: figure from TVET Country Profiles: Myanmar. (October, 2018). UNESCO. Retrieved May 20, 2019 from: https://unevoc.unesco.org/wtdb/worldtvetdatabase_mmr_en.pdf

Formal TVET System

Constituting the formal TVET sector, there were 108 technical and vocational institutes under the Department of Technical and Vocational Education (DTVE) of the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2012 (which has since been integrated into the Ministry of Education and renamed to DTVET). However, many of these institutes are at the higher education level. The main TVET institutions under DTVET at middle and high school level are Government Technical Institutes (11 in total) and Government Technical High Schools (36 in total).

Table 1 Formal TVET System

Note: chart from TVET Country Profiles: Myanmar. (October, 2018). UNESCO.Retrieved May 20, 2019 from: https://unevoc.unesco.org/wtdb/worldtvetdatabase_mmr_en.pdf

Non-formal and informal TVET systems

The majority of TVET programs that are undertaken by ministries other than the Ministry of Education are considered non-formal TVET programs in Myanmar. Among the most important TVET institutes of other ministries are the 6 Industrial Training Centers (ITCs) of the Ministry of Industry. ITCs currently provide 1-year training programs with plans in place to expand these programs to 2 years. Each ITC has been established with the assistance of development partners.

Non-formal TVET programs are also provided by private training institutes and through public-private partnerships. An important private training provider in Myanmar is the Center for Vocational Training (CVT), a Swiss-funded vocational training school in Yangon, established in 2002 with the objective to introduce and practice a Myanmar-adapted form of the dual apprenticeship model of Switzerland. Students attend CVT one day a week and practice in their companies five days a week, with additional two-week practical training courses once a year.

Informal training is offered by different training providers in Myanmar. These providers include companies, registered and non-registered NGOs. The training programs are in the form of work-based learning, especially in handicrafts and food and beverage production. NGOs led informal training provision is also widespread. For example, Save the Children is working with drop-out students aged 8–19 to help them find work according to the needs of their local labor market. There are also many reintegration training programs, including for people returning from China, Thailand, and other countries in the region. Local NGOs are supported by UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), among others.

Table 2: Non-formal TVET systems

Note: chart from TVET Country Profiles: Myanmar. (October, 2018). UNESCO. Retrieved May 20, 2019 from:https://unevoc.unesco.org/wtdb/worldtvetdatabase_mmr_en.pdf

Qualification Framework

The NQF in Myanmar is currently under development. Myanmar is fully committed to the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF) and has started the process of developing a Myanmar National Qualifications Framework (MNQF) at the end of 2013.

A working group, comprised of twelve ministries, prepared an initial draft by July 2014. This draft was revised based on comments from local scholars, a critical study done by a group of international experts and feedback received during a national-level stakeholders' consultation on the MNQF. The final draft was introduced at the end of 2015, but has not been officially approved yet. In conjunction with the development of the MNQF, a National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Committee (NAQAC) was set up. The MNQF will most likely comprise eight levels which address basic education, TVET, and higher education. With the exception of the basic education levels, the framework refers to specific qualification types and certificates on each level:

Of the eight MNQF, four will be relevant to TVET:

Certificate 1 Semi-skilled worker
Certificate 2 Skilled worker
Certificate 3 Advanced skilled worker
Certificate 4 Supervisor

Levels of NVQS

Table 3: The Proposed eight levels of MNQR:

TVET Financing

TVET institutions receive resources from the ministry to which they correspond. They currently have no say in the number of resources allocated to them, since this is budgeted for by the respective ministry. Current expenditures for TVET institutions under the DTVET are mainly used for teacher salaries, with capital expenditure for facilities, equipment, and teaching materials being constrained. In order to improve the quality of education and the high drop-out rate, the budget for these purposes should be increased.

The new Employment and Skills Development Law (ESDL), which was promulgated in 2013, foresees the establishment of a workers' skills development fund. Such a fund would be an essential step towards ensuring sustainable financing of demand-oriented training initiated by the industry. The fund has, however, not been established yet. According to the ESDL, the fund may be established for the skill development of workers from industrial and service sectors, and be used for a) skills development training and skills upgrading of workers; b) provision of necessary re-training of workers due to their termination of work or desire to transfer to another job. Employers from industry and service sectors are expected to pay a minimum of 0.5% and a maximum of 2% of total wages or salaries of workers (supervisor level and below) to the fund on a monthly basis.

Donor assistance in the TVET sector is still limited to the provision of grants, with ADB, Germany, and Switzerland as major donors. However, the ADB and the Myanmar Parliament approved the first loan of US$98 million for the provision of cohesive secondary education subsector and TVET reform support at the end of 2016.

Table 4: Education Expenditure

Note: figure from TVET Country Profiles: Myanmar. (October, 2018). UNESCO. Retrieved May 20, 2019 form: https://unevoc.unesco.org/wtdb/worldtvetdatabase_mmr_en.pdf

References:

Government of the Republic of Myanmar. National Employment & Skill Development Website. Retrieved May 20, 2019 form: http://www.nesdmyanmar.org
International Labour Organization. ( 2014). Asia-Pacific Working Paper Series, Assessment study of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Myanmar. Retrieved May 20, 2019 from: http://www.lse.ac.uk/business-and-consultancy/consulting/assets/documents/assessment-study-oftechnical-and-vocational-education-and-training-in-Myanmar.pdf
Myanmar: Education and Literacy. (n.d.). UNESCO. Retrieved May 20, 2019 form: http://uis.unesco.org/en/country/mm TVET Country Profiles: Myanmar. (October, 2018). UNESCO. Retrieved May 20, 2019 form: https://unevoc.unesco.org/wtdb/worldtvetdatabase_mmr_en.pdf
TVET MYANMAR DIRECTORY. (2017). TVET MYANMAR.Retrieved May 20, 2019 form: http://www.tvetmyanmar.gov.mm/en/tvet/tvet-myanmar-directory.html

GDP

$79,852,046.61 (2020)

GDP Per Capita

$1,467.6 (2020)

Currency

Myanmar Kyat (MMK) = 100 pya

Major Exports

Petroleum Gas (28.6% = $6.42B), Non-Knit Women's Coats (5.05% = $1.13B), Rice (4.9% = $1.1B), Refined Copper (3.75% = $841M), and Dried Legumes (3.44% = $771M)

Major Imports

Refined Petroleum (10.4% = $2.98B), Broadcasting Equipment (3.81% = $1.09B), Heavy Synthetic Cotton Fabrics (2.48% = $709M), Synthetic Filament Yarn Woven Fabric (2.35% = $672M), and Light Rubberized Knitted Fabric (2.03% = $580M)

Major Industries

Agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; cement, construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; petroleum

Major Export Partners

China (24.4% = $5.47B), Thailand (23.6% = $5.3B), Japan (6.85% = $1.54B), Germany (5.44% = $1.22B), and United States (4.31% = $966M)

Major Import Partners

China (43% = $12.3B), Thailand (14.8% = $4.24B), Singapore (12% = $3.43B), Indonesia (4.51% = $1.29B), and India (3.61% = $1.03B)

Foreign Exchange Reserves

$ 7,670,070.79 (2020)

Ease of Doing Business Rank

165th (out of 190) (2019)

Inflation

5.1 %

Population below Poverty Line

24.8% (2017)

Gini Coefficient

30.7 (2017)

Competitiveness Rank

170th (out of 190)

Employment Rate

55.6% (2020)

Unemployment Rate

1.8% (2020)

Win Myint
(https://southeastasiaglobe.com/myanmars-ambitious-new-president-pushing-for-changes-to-military-drafted-constitution/)

Type of Government

Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic

Head of State

Win Myint (President)

Head of Government

Aung San Suu Kyi (State Counsellor)

Legislating Body/Bodies

Assembly of the Union (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw)
Lower House: House of Nationalities (Amyotha Hluttaw)
Upper House: House of Representatives (Pyithu Hluttaw)

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