The Power of Protest in Myanmar: Building Alternatives to Military Dictatorship through Education

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Students and teachers have long been at the forefront of political change in Myanmar, and education has often been an arena for the contestation of ideologies. In the early 20th century, the nascent Burmese nationalist movement protested what they called the British colonial “slave education” system, and university students led the 1988 pro-democracy movement (Metro, 2021). Throughout decades of civil war, individuals and groups within Myanmar have been working for peace and social justice through education (Wong, 2022). Now a new generation of student activists has been at the forefront of protesting the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, and education has become a primary field for shaping federal democratic alternatives to the authoritarian regime. Following the coup, more than half of all students and teachers participated in a nationwide boycott of schools as part of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), and two years later, about one third still have not returned to the military-controlled educational institutions (Frontier Myanmar, 2023).

This panel explores the educational alternatives that those teachers and students have been building. The National Unity Government (NUG), a government-in-exile formed by elected lawmakers ousted in the 2021 coup, has offered online and in-person options for basic and continuing education, and for the first time this year offered a matriculation exam (Thang & Fishbein, forthcoming). Spring University Myanmar (SUM) has offered over five hundred virtual and in-person classes for more than thirteen thousand students, and is beginning to offer degree programs in collaboration with other universities; their courses in ethnic languages and peace studies offer unique opportunities that haven’t existed within military-ruled Myanmar (SUM, 2023). Virtual Federal University (VFU), founded by student activists and scholars, offers online self-paced and guided courses as well as teacher training and fellowship programs to develop the capacity of Myanmar youth. TeacherFOCUS, a Thailand-based non-profit organization, offers youth leadership programs and capacity-building for teachers while also addressing the Myanmar migrant community’s emergency needs.

The work of all of these and other similar organizations could be conceived as a form of protest against decades of military repression, and seen as part of a shared conviction that schools must help build a more just and peaceful society. Yet this path is not easy. Disagreements exist about how to view and treat teachers and students who continue to participate in the military regime’s education system (Frontier Myanmar, 2023). Pre-existing ethnic, religious, and political divisions continue to influence how educators are able to collaborate in opposition to the regime, and new pedagogies that disrupt social hierarchies may meet with resistance (Metro, 2023). Teachers and students who have experienced trauma and who live in poverty are struggling to cope with ongoing emergencies (Lowe, Win Naing, & Tyrosvoutis, 2022). Yet the educational work happening in the wake of Myanmar’s political crisis offers a fascinating case study for understanding the possibilities and limitations of pedagogy as protest.

The panel chair, Mary Wong, will launch the session with a brief introduction of the context, previewing the questions the panel will address from the Call for Proposals: In what ways can education be a catalyst for change? Have protests reshaped the cultures of education institutions, and if so, how? What role do the different medias play in shaping protest? Greg Tyrosvoutis and Tin Zar will then discuss educational services on the Thai/Burma border following a 60% increase in 2023 of children of migrant workers from Myanmar living in Thailand after the 2021 military coup. The third presentation by James Htut will outline how Spring University Myanmar (SUM) is working to build social cohesion and shape the future of Myanmar through offering new courses on federalism and peace studies through short-term modular courses. The final speaker, Ei Thin Zar will discuss how People's Radio Myanmar has become a space for resistance and representation for young people following the coup. The discussant, Rose Metro, will draw out connections among the presentations and highlight insights before the session concludes with time for questions.

Sub Unit

• Education in Conflict and Emergencies SIG

Chair

• Mary Shepard Wong, Azusa Pacific University

Individual Presentations

• The new mainstream: The rise of parallel education providers in Thailand in the wake Myanmar’s ongoing coup d’état - Greg Tyrosvoutis, The Inclusive Education Foundation

• Grassroots Multi-ethnic Discourse for a Democratic and Pluralistic Burma (Myanmar): Lessons from the Formation of People's Radio Myanmar - Ei Thin Zar, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Discussant

• Rosalie Metro, University of Missouri