Burma - EducationBurma - Education
Overview
In Myanmar, significant education sector reform began when the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government came to power in April 2016. The government laid out top priorities and announced increased budgets for the education sector. The National Education Sector Plan (NESP) 2016-20 indicates that the allotted budget for reforming the education sector rose from Myanmar kyats (MMK) 310bn ($251.8m) in FY 2012-13 to MMK 1.76trn ($1.34bn) in FY 2017-18, which is approximately 8.5 percent of total government spending. For many years, the education sector had received very little attention from previous government administrations.
The Ministry of Education understands the importance of teachers as they play a crucial role in the improvement of student learning outcomes. The Ministry established a National Teacher Competency Standards Framework (TCSF) in 2015 and updated the framework in 2017. The framework covers four key areas: knowledge and understanding; skills and practices; growth and development; and values and dispositions. In order to fulfill the staffing gaps at schools, the Ministry employed an additional 72,000 daily wage teachers by providing one-month pre-service training at public primary schools with later employment as full-time teachers upon completion of further training.
Locally-owned private education in Myanmar is now offering reasonably priced tuition targeting middle-income families. The curricula that the private schools are offering are comparable to public schools, however, their focus is more on English language proficiency and other school activities. They mostly follow government policy for curricula and exam systems.
The American University of Myanmar (AUM) was selected to be part of the Higher Education Institutions (HEI) program together with 8 other universities across the country to act like the central coordinating body for higher education. HEI coursework at AUM was scheduled to begin in 2016 but has yet to offer university-level coursework. In the meantime, AUM has begun offering an American High School Equivalency Program, which prepares students for U.S. university courses, as well as a study abroad program.
The majority of the population is college-age in Myanmar. Since the late 1990s, the country has been experiencing increasing demand for high quality education services. To meet the increasing demand, local training centers has begun partnering with education institutes from the United Kingdom (UK) and started international diploma programs with the help of local foreign graduates and experienced professors. The international education market has been significantly growing in Myanmar since then, and by December 2017 there were approximately 35 local private training centers offering a variety of UK certificate and diploma courses in business management, financial management, marketing management, project management, information technology, engineering, accounting, and tourism. There are more than 20 international schools operating in Yangon and Mandalay offering nursery, high school and international college preparatory programs due to the high demand in the market. In addition, there are about ten private training centers in Yangon and other cities offering the UK’s Higher National Diplomas in information technology, computing and business management and six private centers that offer bachelor and Master degree programs from the UK, ASEAN, and European countries.
In Myanmar, the United States is becoming a popular destination for international education. In 2017-18, there were 1,569 Myanmar students studying in the United States, representing a 16.1 percent increase from the previous scholastic year.
Table: Myanmar-U.S. Student Travel Data
Source: Institute of International Education Open Doors 2018 Report
Main areas of study for Myanmar students include business management, financial management, project management, hospitality, accounting, marketing, and engineering and information technology.
Leading Sub-Sectors
Community Colleges: The community college concept is gaining popularity in Myanmar as students and parents now realize that the concept is an effective and economical route to transfer to high ranked four-year universities. Local education agents play an important role in promoting the community college concept in Myanmar. Many U.S. community colleges have partnered with local study abroad agents to recruit Myanmar students. There are about 10-15 reputable education agents in Myanmar working with universities and colleges from various countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Korea, Japan, UK, the United States and Canada.
Four-Year Degree and Master Programs: Local education agents and counseling services have partnered with many American universities to promote U.S. graduate and postgraduate programs to Myanmar students.
Transactional Education Program: U.S. transactional education service providers can find tremendous business opportunities in Myanmar’s education sector. The UK transactional education program is still the market leader in Myanmar. It offers advanced credit based on academic work completed in the students’ home country. The program is usually carried out at learning centers that are regulated by the British exam bodies. This is currently a $2 billion a year business globally. Thus far, the United States has about 4 percent of the market while the UK has about 66 percent.
Technical and Vocational Training Services (TVET): In Myanmar, the shortage of skilled labor is a major challenge. There is a massive need to provide technical and vocational training services to Myanmar’s labor force in order to meet the ASEAN TVET skills standard. Aware of this skill gap, the GOM formed a TVET task force to advance cooperation among ministries and the public and private sectors in order to enhance the capacity of the labor force in Myanmar. According to the NESP, Myanmar needs a large amount of skilled labor for the agriculture, energy, manufacturing, infrastructure, franchise and tourism sectors. Technical and vocational training services will play a key role in fulfilling this demand.
Opportunities
People in Myanmar now realize the importance of quality education and parents are willing to invest in their children’s education so that they can have good career opportunities after graduation. The local learning centers are actively seeking potential partnerships with U.S. education institutes and universities for undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate programs. According to some learning centers, Myanmar students prefer to have more options and are desperately waiting for U.S. transactional programs. This is the right time for U.S. education service providers to consider entering the Myanmar market since the GOM now allows foreign education service providers to invest 100 percent in private schools, technical, vocational and training schools, higher education schools and universities, subject-based schools, and private schools designated by the Ministry of Education, according to the Notification 7/2018 released by the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) in April 2018. This is very encouraging for U.S. education service providers to invest in Myanmar’s significantly booming education sector.
The below market entry strategies have proven effective in marketing education services in Myanmar.
Appoint Local Representative(s)
The role of education agents/local representation is key for the success of American colleges and universities in the Myanmar market. Students and parents feel comfortable in seeking advice on issues such as school admission process and guidelines from experts, advisors and counselors who are based in the country with wider knowledge of schools and policies. Many U.S. colleges and universities have appointed local education agents to market their schools and recruit Myanmar students.
Exhibit at Education Fairs
EducationUSA is a U.S. Department of State network of over 400 international student advising centers in more than 170 countries. EducationUSA organizes annual education fairs each year around the world, including in Myanmar. More than 35 U.S. colleges and universities participated in the most recent fairs in Yangon and Mandalay. Further information about studying in the United States is available on the EducationUSA website and from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department.
Web Resources
Bureau of Consular Affairs Report & Statistics
Education USA Myanmar (Myanmar)
Ministry of Education
Open Doors International Education Exchange
U.S. Embassy in Myanmar – Study in the U.S.A.
Ministry of Education Myanmar - National Economic Strategic Plan 2016-21)
Contact Information
U.S. Commercial Service Myanmar
Khin Wai Yan Soe
Commercial Assistant
Email: WaiYan.Soe@trade.gov
Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.
In Myanmar, significant education sector reform began when the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government came to power in April 2016. The government laid out top priorities and announced increased budgets for the education sector. The National Education Sector Plan (NESP) 2016-20 indicates that the allotted budget for reforming the education sector rose from Myanmar kyats (MMK) 310bn ($251.8m) in FY 2012-13 to MMK 1.76trn ($1.34bn) in FY 2017-18, which is approximately 8.5 percent of total government spending. For many years, the education sector had received very little attention from previous government administrations.
The Ministry of Education understands the importance of teachers as they play a crucial role in the improvement of student learning outcomes. The Ministry established a National Teacher Competency Standards Framework (TCSF) in 2015 and updated the framework in 2017. The framework covers four key areas: knowledge and understanding; skills and practices; growth and development; and values and dispositions. In order to fulfill the staffing gaps at schools, the Ministry employed an additional 72,000 daily wage teachers by providing one-month pre-service training at public primary schools with later employment as full-time teachers upon completion of further training.
Locally-owned private education in Myanmar is now offering reasonably priced tuition targeting middle-income families. The curricula that the private schools are offering are comparable to public schools, however, their focus is more on English language proficiency and other school activities. They mostly follow government policy for curricula and exam systems.
The American University of Myanmar (AUM) was selected to be part of the Higher Education Institutions (HEI) program together with 8 other universities across the country to act like the central coordinating body for higher education. HEI coursework at AUM was scheduled to begin in 2016 but has yet to offer university-level coursework. In the meantime, AUM has begun offering an American High School Equivalency Program, which prepares students for U.S. university courses, as well as a study abroad program.
The majority of the population is college-age in Myanmar. Since the late 1990s, the country has been experiencing increasing demand for high quality education services. To meet the increasing demand, local training centers has begun partnering with education institutes from the United Kingdom (UK) and started international diploma programs with the help of local foreign graduates and experienced professors. The international education market has been significantly growing in Myanmar since then, and by December 2017 there were approximately 35 local private training centers offering a variety of UK certificate and diploma courses in business management, financial management, marketing management, project management, information technology, engineering, accounting, and tourism. There are more than 20 international schools operating in Yangon and Mandalay offering nursery, high school and international college preparatory programs due to the high demand in the market. In addition, there are about ten private training centers in Yangon and other cities offering the UK’s Higher National Diplomas in information technology, computing and business management and six private centers that offer bachelor and Master degree programs from the UK, ASEAN, and European countries.
In Myanmar, the United States is becoming a popular destination for international education. In 2017-18, there were 1,569 Myanmar students studying in the United States, representing a 16.1 percent increase from the previous scholastic year.
Table: Myanmar-U.S. Student Travel Data
| Type of Education | FY | ||||
| 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | percent of total 2017-18 | percent change 2017-18 | |
| Undergraduate | 859 | 987 | 1,116 | 71.1 | 13.1 |
| Graduate | 176 | 210 | 245 | 15.6 | 16.7 |
| Non-Degree | 67 | 41 | 72 | 4.6 | 75.6 |
| Optional Practical Training | 92 | 113 | 136 | 8.7 | 20.4 |
Main areas of study for Myanmar students include business management, financial management, project management, hospitality, accounting, marketing, and engineering and information technology.
Leading Sub-Sectors
Community Colleges: The community college concept is gaining popularity in Myanmar as students and parents now realize that the concept is an effective and economical route to transfer to high ranked four-year universities. Local education agents play an important role in promoting the community college concept in Myanmar. Many U.S. community colleges have partnered with local study abroad agents to recruit Myanmar students. There are about 10-15 reputable education agents in Myanmar working with universities and colleges from various countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Korea, Japan, UK, the United States and Canada.
Four-Year Degree and Master Programs: Local education agents and counseling services have partnered with many American universities to promote U.S. graduate and postgraduate programs to Myanmar students.
Transactional Education Program: U.S. transactional education service providers can find tremendous business opportunities in Myanmar’s education sector. The UK transactional education program is still the market leader in Myanmar. It offers advanced credit based on academic work completed in the students’ home country. The program is usually carried out at learning centers that are regulated by the British exam bodies. This is currently a $2 billion a year business globally. Thus far, the United States has about 4 percent of the market while the UK has about 66 percent.
Technical and Vocational Training Services (TVET): In Myanmar, the shortage of skilled labor is a major challenge. There is a massive need to provide technical and vocational training services to Myanmar’s labor force in order to meet the ASEAN TVET skills standard. Aware of this skill gap, the GOM formed a TVET task force to advance cooperation among ministries and the public and private sectors in order to enhance the capacity of the labor force in Myanmar. According to the NESP, Myanmar needs a large amount of skilled labor for the agriculture, energy, manufacturing, infrastructure, franchise and tourism sectors. Technical and vocational training services will play a key role in fulfilling this demand.
Opportunities
People in Myanmar now realize the importance of quality education and parents are willing to invest in their children’s education so that they can have good career opportunities after graduation. The local learning centers are actively seeking potential partnerships with U.S. education institutes and universities for undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate programs. According to some learning centers, Myanmar students prefer to have more options and are desperately waiting for U.S. transactional programs. This is the right time for U.S. education service providers to consider entering the Myanmar market since the GOM now allows foreign education service providers to invest 100 percent in private schools, technical, vocational and training schools, higher education schools and universities, subject-based schools, and private schools designated by the Ministry of Education, according to the Notification 7/2018 released by the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) in April 2018. This is very encouraging for U.S. education service providers to invest in Myanmar’s significantly booming education sector.
The below market entry strategies have proven effective in marketing education services in Myanmar.
Appoint Local Representative(s)
The role of education agents/local representation is key for the success of American colleges and universities in the Myanmar market. Students and parents feel comfortable in seeking advice on issues such as school admission process and guidelines from experts, advisors and counselors who are based in the country with wider knowledge of schools and policies. Many U.S. colleges and universities have appointed local education agents to market their schools and recruit Myanmar students.
Exhibit at Education Fairs
EducationUSA is a U.S. Department of State network of over 400 international student advising centers in more than 170 countries. EducationUSA organizes annual education fairs each year around the world, including in Myanmar. More than 35 U.S. colleges and universities participated in the most recent fairs in Yangon and Mandalay. Further information about studying in the United States is available on the EducationUSA website and from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department.
Web Resources
Bureau of Consular Affairs Report & Statistics
Education USA Myanmar (Myanmar)
Ministry of Education
Open Doors International Education Exchange
U.S. Embassy in Myanmar – Study in the U.S.A.
Ministry of Education Myanmar - National Economic Strategic Plan 2016-21)
Contact Information
U.S. Commercial Service Myanmar
Khin Wai Yan Soe
Commercial Assistant
Email: WaiYan.Soe@trade.gov
Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.