Parliament welcomes suggestions on education law: Speaker
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The Union Parliament is ready to accommodate any suggestions over the national education law which has been boycotted by students, said Thura Shwe Mann, speaker of the Union Parliament.
The speaker met local media in the compound of lower house of parliament on November 18.
“The parliament has yet to receive any suggestions from the students to review the law. And the parliament is ready to listen to the voices of students,” said the speaker.
The students staged a series of protests from 14 to 18 November, chanting slogans and holding vinyl and signboards reading: “we don’t want the education that doesn’t base on all students,” “we want a democratic education” and “we want to freely form student unions”.
“From my standpoint, students may have a good intention towards the national education law. I assume that their thoughts are very valuable for the country. So their demonstrations may be for the interests of students and the public. I strongly believe that the students would cooperate in good faith,” he added.
Meanwhile, Union Education Minister Dr Khin San Yi said that students should engage in an open dialogue on the national education law. To him, their protests against the law were understandable.
Dr Khin San Yi was speaking to the media during a meeting of the Implementation Committee for National Education Promotion held in Yangon on Tuesday.
“I can understand [the students]. A dialogue is open to them,” said the minister. “Parents cannot always give their children everything they ask for. Like parents, we also invite students to a dialogue, and they can make demands. But children must understand what their parents cannot afford.”
She said as Myanmar is a democratic country, a single organisation could not decide on the issue, and it would be submitted to parliament.
She also defended the law in question, saying it took two years to pass the education law after detailed discussion in parliament.
Students took to the streets in Yangon from November 14 to 17 protest the recently passed national education law, making a six-point demand that includes calls for reducing centralisation and the right to form student unions.
