Tentative plan for additional meetings over education law
Secretary Dr Myat Nya Na Soe of the Constitutional Review Joint Committee said there might be future meetings with student leaders to discuss amendments to the national educational law.
He also said the national educational bill will be the top priority when the next parliament session begins.
“The education bill was sent back with some changes by the parliament. These changes will affect students, so there is a high chance that we will have to meet with the students, although I cannot say for certain,” said Dr Myat Nya Na Soe.
The ongoing series of aimed at amending the education law began on March 8 and continued until March 18. The meetings were attended by student leaders, political party representatives and private organisations.
The committee submitted the results of the meetings to the lower house of parliament for review, after which they were sent to the Union parliament. The Union parliament sent the amended bill back to the lower house with edits on April 9. A registration notice was passed for representatives who wish to take part in additional discussions when the next parliament session begins.
Ahead of the upcoming parliament session, the committee met with relevant organisations to discuss matters such as the educational bill, the proportional representation system and the religious conversion bill.
“The other important thing is the bill regarding the Union Election Commission, which a parliament representative submitted. It relates to lower-level staff. Their pay rates are far too little. If a fair and proper general election was to be held, they will need higher compensation. This bill will also become a significant one in the future,” said Dr Myat Nya Na Soe.
He continued: “Many hearings have been held, but only one thing came out concerning nationality and religious safeguard laws. It is regarding marriage for Buddhist women, which has been sent back by the Union parliament. It is also a critical law. The religious conversion bill has been widely and deeply discussed. Within the law, it is no longer an offence if you did not update your National Identification Card after converting to another. However, within the National Identification Registration Board, there are many government officials. There are suggestions that it would be better if there were more outsiders involved. There is a lot to think about.”
He went on to emphasise that any other new bills and amendments must be decided upon soon since there might not be another parliament meeting to discuss these issues. If these issues are left unresolved, he said, they might lose relevance once the next parliamentary session begins.
