The New Light of Myanmar (Tuesday, 23 October , 2001)(1/2)
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1. Secretary-1 addresses opening of Special Refresher Course
No 46 for Basic Education Teachers
2. Ninth Myanmar Traditional Cultural Performing Arts
Competitions continue for eighth day
3. - Industry-1 Minister receives PRC guests
- Minister receives UNDCP resident rep
4. Minister for Education addresses 31st General Conference
of UNESCO
5. - Industry-1 Minister inspects Garment Factories in Mayangon
- Minister for Rail Transportation inspects Donthami Bridge
- Workshop of deputy superintending engineers and senior
engineers (Civil) held
6. - Minister visits Zeebingyi Central Fire-Fighting
Training School
- Minister inspects mining sites, No 1 Steel Mill in
Mandalay Division
- Visiting Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister calls on Commerce
Deputy Minister, visits Shwedagon Pagoda
7. - Buridat Marionette Drama Contest begins at National
Theatre
- Coord meeting (3/2001) of MNWCWA held
- K 2.3m donated to use in treatment for kidney patients
8. - Prizes presented to winners of third short story,
article, song, poem, cartoon, painting and poster
competitions
- Work Committee, Sub-committee, team managers meet
- Myanmar delegation leaves for PRC
9. - Buddha images donated by Thailand consecrated
- Delegation back from Singapore
- 19,570 stimulant pills seized in Thanbyuzayat
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( 1 ) Government systematically implementing plans designed to produce
intellectuals and intelligentsia well-versed in science and technology
Secretary-1 addresses opening of Special Refresher Course No 46 for Basic
Education Teachers
Yangon, 22 Oct - A ceremony to open Special Refresher Course No 46 for Basic
Education Teachers was held at the Central Institute of Civil Service
(Phaunggyi), Hlegu Township, here, this morning, attended by Chairman of
Myanmar Education Committee Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development
Council Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt. Also present were the ministers, the Chief Justice,
the Attorney-General, the Auditor-General, the Chairman of the Civil Service
Selection and Training Board, the Mayor of Yangon, the deputy ministers, senior
military officers, members of the CSSTB, officials of the State Peace and
Development Council Office, heads of department, Rector of CICS Col Win Maung
and officials, course instructors and trainee teachers.
The Secretary-1 said that at a time when the government is paying priority to
promotion of national education, the getting of a chance to attend the special
refresher course for basic education teachers opened with noble aims amounts to
the getting of a chance to know more about the educational policies, aims and
working programmes of the State and to acquire the concept and ability to
perform national tasks dutifully.
In view of the international situation, all the nations in the world are
involved in the process of globalization, and in this regard, advances in
science and technology serve as a driving force. Rapid advances in science and
technologies, particularly in information and communication technology have
become influential in the economic, financial, education, health, social,
security and defence sectors of all the nations. In this way, these advances
are turning the world today into a human society influenced by technology.
Under these circumstances, the technological gap makes wider the gap of wealth,
development and opportunities among the nations of the world.
Therefore, all the nations in the world are trying to keep pace with
globalization process and making all-out efforts to make sure that they do not
lag behind others. Moreover, in the beginning of the new millennium, the
nations of the world have clearer national outlook, and their desires for the
development of their nations and peoples are getting more and more intense.
However, some nations which have paid priority only to development while
attempting to keep pace with globalization process have begun to suffer
degradation of national character, traditional cultures and social values.
The ideology and social norms of some big developed nations capable of
employing information and communication technology have come to influence
developing nations. The ripples of possible economic slowdown in these
developed nations can spread all over the world. At a time when technological,
economic, ideological and cultural changes are taking place, a developing
nation like the Union of Myanmar is required to lay down plans with constant
national vigil in consideration of the international situation so that it can
maintain stability and peace and tranquillity and stand shoulder to shoulder
with others.
So, it is a very important national duty. With the aim of shaping the future
of the nation in such a way that national interests can be promoted, the
government is systematically implementing plans designed to produce
intellectuals and intelligentsia well-versed in science and technology and to
preserve and uplift national character, traditional cultures and social values.
Education promotion programmes, national education promotion special four-year
programmes and the long-term national education plan implemented in the
education sector today are parts of the master plan for the reform of national
education system. Due to the correct education policy and working programmes of
the government, the contribution of the entire national people including
parents and members of social organizations and active participation of
teachers and students in the implementation of national education promotion
programmes, the aims of the national education promotion programme emergence of
an education system which contributes to the building of a peaceful, modern and
developed nation are beginning to materialize.
In the basic education sector today, the teacher-centred system has been
replaced with the student-centred system, thereby creating an all-round
education system which can link the hobby and prospects of individual students
with the social environment. Similarly, included in the curriculum are the
subjects which reflect the social code of conduct, morals and patriotism and
Union Spirit. In this way, students are being trained not merely to be
outstanding but also to have clear national outlook. The conventional teaching
system is being replaced with e-learning and computerized learning. Multimedia
teaching centres opened at schools are living proof of this fact.
Today in the basic education sector and the higher education sector, curricula
have been upgraded and modern laboratories, science laboratories, modern
libraries and ICT-based learning centres and resource centres have been set up.
Therefore, e-Education is taking shape. Measures have been taken not only to
upgrade teaching and learning systems and curricula but also to promote the
quality of teachers, who constitute the main force in the education sector.
Teacher training institutes and schools have been upgraded into education
colleges in 1998. Curricula, their contents and teaching aids have been upgrade
as well. Teacher training courses are also being conducted. For the teachers
who have not attended the teacher training courses, teacher training
correspondence courses and teacher training courses based in the Institute of
Education and townships are being opened.
Today, over 3,000 trainees have completed teacher training courses, and have
been appointed as basic education teachers. Over 15,000 trainees are attending
the teacher training courses. As measures have been taken for the qualitative
and quantitative improvement of teacher training, only about 7,000 trainees
were trained previously at regular courses and by correspondence and now about
34,000 trainees can be trained every year. In addition, arrangements have been
made to enable those who have completed the two-year course at education
colleges to get a degree from the Institutes of Education by attending bridge
courses.
The Institutes of Education are also offering two-year correspondence courses
for in-service teachers to be able to do degree courses. In addition,
postgraduate diploma courses are also being opened. Diploma course graduates
have been directly appointed as teachers, and this system has proved
successful. At a time when the quality of students and teachers is improving
due to systematic education reforms, the national aims of the education sector
are materializing step by step due to participation of the national people
including parents, members of the school boards of trustees and social
organizations.
Today the aims of the education promotion programmes to enable students to be
outstanding in all sectors, to upgrade the education system up to the
international level and to bridge the gap of education between rural and urban
areas Ñ have been achieved almost to the fullest extent. National education
promotion special four-year plans aimed at upgrading national education up to
the education standard of developed nations in south-east Asia are being
implemented in all sectors including education, health, agriculture, livestock
breeding and forest.
Now half of the duration of the national education promotion special four-year
plan has elapsed, and the plan has begun to bear fruit. It is satisfying to
learn that a long-term national education plan which covers the whole education
sector of the nation is now being implemented. The Secretary-1 called on
teachers to nurture student youths right from the basic education level in
accord with the aspirations of the State so that national education promotion
programmes ranging from education promotion programmes up to long-term national
education plans can materialize.
He urged all teachers to strive in harmony for producing highly-qualified human
resources, for making efforts for uplift of education of the entire people in
combination with formal and non-formal education and for emergence of a
learning Myanmar society with nationalist spirit in accord with the objectives
of the national education project. He said nowadays education is the main
factor of all development in the nations of the world. It has reached the times
that progress of a nation can be measured by education, health and social
standard of citizens. Therefore, education has become a factor which indicates
dignity of the nation and the people.
If there is technological development gap in international community today,
there will be weakness in national development, prosperity of the nation and
the ability to stand tall as a sovereign state, he said. The Secretary-1 urged
the teachers to make efforts for successful implementation of the objectives of
national education project which can bring about development of modern science
and technology and emergence of brilliant intellectuals and intelligentsia of
international standard with national outlook.
In conclusion, he urged them to make endeavours for raising the national
education standard in order to keep abreast with the nations of the world, for
realization of the national education project being undertaken for development
of human resources which is the prime factor for the emergence of a peaceful,
modern developed nation and for organizing the entire people including students
to participate in building and safeguarding the nation with patriotism,Union
Spirit and dynamic national spirit. The Secretary-1 then greeted the trainee
teachers and left CICS (Phaunggyi) in the morning. Altogether 1,508 teachers
from states and divisions are attending the five-week special refresher course
No 46 for Basic Education Teachers.
___________________________
( 2 ) Ninth Myanmar Traditional Cultural Performing Arts Competitions continue
for eighth day
Yangon, 22 Oct-The Ninth Myanmar Traditional Cultural Performing Arts
Competitions continued for the eighth day at the respective venues today. The
song competition of the Ninth Myanmar Traditional Cultural Performing Arts
Competitions was held at the National Museum on Pyay Road in Dagon Township;
the song composing competition at the Kanbawza Theatre of the Fine Arts
Department on Kaba Aye Pagoda Road in Bahan Township; the music competition at
the Padonma Theatre in Sangyoung Township and the National Theatre on Myoma
Kyaung Street in Dagon Township.
Present at the competitions were Secretary-3 of the State Peace and
Development Council Adjutant-General Lt-Gen Win Myint, member of the Panel of
Patrons of the Ninth Myanmar Traditional Cultural Performing Arts Competitions
Chairman of the Leading Committee for Organizing the Competitions member of the
State Peace and Development Council Commander Maj-Gen Khin Maung Than, Minister
for Information Maj-Gen Kyi Aung, Minister for Transport Maj-Gen Hla Myint Swe,
Minister for Construction Maj-Gen Saw Tun, Minister for Foreign Affairs U Win
Aung, Vice-Chairman of the Leading Committee Deputy Minister for Culture U Soe
Nyunt and members of the Leading Committee, chairmen and members of the sub-
committees, senior military officers, heads of department, teachers and
students and enthusiasts.
At the song competition held at the National Museum, altogether 13 contestants
took part in the professional level (men's) religious song competition with the
song ' Ngapa Pyinsathi." In the afternoon, 16 contestants participated in the
amateur level (women's) modern classic song competition with the song "
Kanbawza." Chairperson of the Panel of Judges Daw Tin Tin Mya supervised the
competition.
The professional level (women) classical song competition and basic education
level (boys aged 5-10) modern classical song competition will be held at the
same venue tomorrow. The song composing competition was held at the Kanbawza
Theatre this morning. The contestants of the basic education level (aged 5-10)
and (aged 10-15) song composing competitions practised singing the songs which
they composed. Chairman of the Panel of Judges Bogalay U Tint Aung supervised
the competition.
The contestants of the basic education level song composing competitions will
practise singing songs which they composed at the same venue tomorrow. The
music competition was held at the Padonma Theatre this morning. Altogether two
contestants took part in the professional level (women) harp competition and
five contestants in the basic education level (girls aged 5-10) harp
competition. Chairman of the Panel of Judges U Thein Han Gyi and members
supervised the music competition. The amateur level (women), professional level
(men) and the basic education level (girls aged 15-20) harp competitions will
be held at the same venue tomorrow.
The piano competition was held at the National Theatre this morning. Altogether
14 contestants participated in the basic education level piano competition. In
the afternoon, six contestants took part in the basic education level (girls
aged 15-20) piano competition. Member of the Panel of Judges Sandaya U Chit Swe
supervised the competition. The higher education level (men) and (women), the
professional level (women) and the basic education level (boys aged 5-10) piano
competitions will be held at the same venue tomorrow.
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( 3 ) Industry-1 Minister receives PRC guests
Yangon, 22 Oct- Minister for Industry-1 U Aung Thaung received Chairman of
Tianjin Machinery Import & Export Corporation Group from the People's Republic
of China Mr Sun Jian Rong and party at 10 am and Vice-Chairman of Chengda
Chemical Engineering Corporation of China Mr Sun Zhi and party at his office at
11 am today. Also present at the calls were Deputy Minister Brig-Gen Thein Tun
and the directors-general and the managing directors of departments and
enterprises.
___________________________
Minister receives UNDCP resident rep
Yangon, 22 Oct - Minister for Progress of Border Areas and National Races and
Development Affairs Col Thein Nyunt received resident representative of United
Nations Drug Control Programme Mr Jean-Luc Lemahieu at his office at 11 am
today. Also present were Director-General of Development of Border Areas and
National Races Department Col Than Swe, Deputy Director-General Lt-Col Myint
Swe and Director U Nyi Nyi.
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( 4 ) Minister for Education addresses 31st General Conference of UNESCO
Yangon, 22 Oct- Chairman of the Myanmar National Commission for UNESCO and
Minister for Education U Than Aung, together with members of the delegation
Alternate Leader Permanent Delegate to UNESCO from Myanmar and Myanmar
Ambassador to France U Wunna Maung Lwin, Rector of the Yangon Institute of
Education and Secretary of the Myanmar National Commission for UNESCO U Han
Tin, Counsellor-Minister U Myint Soe and First Secretaries U Aung Latt and Daw
Aye Hla Bu of the Myanmar Embassy in Paris, France, attended the Thirty-first
General Conference of UNESCO in Paris, France. On 18 October, Chairman of the
Myanmar National Commission for UNESCO and Minister for Education U Than Aung
delivered an address at the conference.
He said: This particular session of the UNESCO General Conference is of
significance as it is the first session of not only the new century but of the
new millennium. We ended the last millennium with renewed hope for a better
world but there are now new dangers and heightened tensions. It is our fervent
hope that the UNESCO ethos of creating a world of peace will ultimately win
through. The International Commission on Education in the Twenty-first Century
in its Report had as its major theme the " Four Pillars of Education ".
The third pillar Learning to Live Together is of particular significance at a
time when mankind more than ever needs to live in harmony and peaceful
co-existence and achieve lasting peace and international solidarity. Schools,
and especially teachers have a pivotal role to play in providing an environment
of learning that can lead to harmonious relationships between peoples of
different cultures.
Myanmar has chosen to develop an education system that is compatible with
present day realities while taking into consideration its history, its culture
and its traditional values. In this age of globalization it is important that
countries like Myanmar with their long history of learning provide indigenous
notions of education a place in educational discourse. It is not necessarily to
extol them, but to point to their usefulness as values as well as their
functionality in the modern setting. We still embrace traditions of
spirituality, of compassion, of caring and sharing, of valuing interpersonal
relations, of restraint behaviour, of close-knit extended families and of
collective action and responsibility.
These notions, we feel, may yet form the bases of modern educational
development in this new century. Though we accept that traditional beliefs and
values will help us in safeguarding ourselves against the excesses and dangers
of globalization, our vision is oriented in the future. It is to create an
education system that can generate a learning society capable of facing the
challenges of the Knowledge Age. We envisage bringing about sustainable
long-term human resource development through utilization of technology and
research, promotion of lifelong learning and quality education. We hope to
transform Myanmar society into a knowledge- dominated learning society with
preservation of national identity and national values as a priority.
This vision is reflected in the education promotion programmes and in the
education reforms initiated following the nation-wide seminars that were held
for Basic Education in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. The third seminar held in the
year 2000, formulated the objectives of the Special Four-Year Plan for
Education for the Basic Education sub-sector.
For the qualitative development of higher education, six seminars were also
held between 1997 and 2001. These nation-wide seminars examined various issues
in tertiary education such as utilization of IT on higher education, the
creation of an alternative delivery modality for higher education as well as
activities to promote human resources development by establishing the National
Centre for Human Resource Development. The Special Four-Year Plan for both
Basic and Higher Education have been incorporated into the national long-term
plan for education.
Though the main thrust in education has been to improve the quality of
education, increasing access to it has also kept pace with it. In a country
with a population of over 50 million, there are now approximately 6.9 million
schoolchildren in thirty-nine thousand schools with nearly two hundred and
twenty thousand schoolteachers. As a result of the school enrolment campaign
begun in 1999, the primary school enrolment rate cow stands at 92.1%.
This campaign to increase school enrolment is a concerted effort by government
departments, NGOs and the community. In addition to this, starting from this
year some of the better-equipped primary schools, especially in the rural
areas, are functioning as post-primary schools. This innovation is having a
positive effect on students encouraging them to continue their studies after
the completion of the primary cycle. At the level of higher education also to
ensure equity in access, there are now 129 institutions of tertiary education
spread throughout the country. We recognize education as a powerful tool for
individual improvement and social development.
The empowerment of people is an important result of education. Learning
enables people to become better informed and allow them to take an active role
in their own education. When people take charge of directing their own lives
and satisfying their needs, they are liberated from poverty and ignorance. We
further recognize that social cooperation and community participation are
extremely important in the process of education. Powerful tool in creating
continuing education opportunities is ICT. Information technologies have become
absolutely essential for development. In Myanmar, we have launched e-Education
from January 1, 2001.
The Data Broadcasting System has been established and now serves 203
e-Education is also being installed and will be operational near the end of the
year. Over the years international agencies have collaborated closely with the
Ministry of Education. Last year, the Asian Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)
facilitated the establishment of the Myanmar Literacy Resource Centre (MLRC) in
Yangon. As a member of ASEAN, Myanmar has joined the ASEAN University Network
and has actively participated in its activities.
It has hosted two meetings in Yangon. Myanmar also became a member of SEAMEO
in February 1998. In December 2000, the SEAMEO Regional Centre for History and
Tradition was established in Yangon. Minister U Than Aung together with Rector
U Han Tin arrived back here by air yesterday afternoon. They were welcomed back
at Yangon International Airport by Minister for Health Maj-Gen Ket Sein,
Minister at the Prime Minister's Office U Than Shwe, Deputy Ministers for
Education Brig-Gen Soe Win Maung and U Myo Nyunt, directors-general and
chairmen of departments and boards under the ministry.
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( 5 ) Industry-1 Minister inspects Garment Factories in Mayangon
Yangon, 22 Oct-Minister for Industry-1 U Aung Thaung, accompanied by Deputy
Minister Brig-Gen Thein Tun and officials, arrived at Mayangon Garment Factory
No 1 of Myanma Textile Industries in Mayangon Township and inspected production
line and spinning with the use of modern Toyoda-Sulzer machine this morning. He
also inspected condition of machinery and gave instructions to the officials.
At the briefing hall, the minister heard the reports on distribution,
purchasing of raw materials and storage by Factory Manager U Maung Maung Latt,
and gave instructions on exceeding the targeted production and fulfilling
necessary raw materials and spare parts of the machinery and creating beautiful
designs for the garments. Then, he proceeded to Mayangon Garment Factory No 2
in the township and inspected the production line there and gave necessary
instructions to the officials.
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Minister for Rail Transportation inspects Donthami Bridge
Yangon, 22 Oct- Minister for Rail Transportation U Pan Aung, accompanied by
officials, inspected construction of Donthami Rail-cum-Road Bridge between Mon
State and Kayin State on 20 October. The minister gave instructions on
completion of the bridge in time, construction of the bridge in accord with the
set standard and worksite safety and attended to the requirements.
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Workshop of deputy superintending engineers and senior engineers (Civil) held
Yangon, 22 Oct- The workshop of deputy superintending engineers and senior
engineers (Civil) of Public Works of the Ministry of Construction was held at
the meeting hall of Public Works (Head Office) on Shwedagon Pagoda Road at 9 am
today. It was attended by Minister for Construction Maj-Gen Saw Tun, Managing
Director of Public Works U Nay Soe Naing, Director-General of Department of
Human Settlement and Housing Development U Arnt Kyaw, departmental heads,
Principal of Thuwunna Central Training School U Saw Kya Waw Mu and trainees. At
the ceremony, the minister gave an opening speech. Altogether 34 deputy
superintending engineers (Civil) and state/division senior engineers (Civil)
are attending the workshop.
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to be continued ...
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