MEC team

MEC and partner organizations (MNEC, KEF, SJN-CBE and KED) attended to the Inclusion, Mobility and Multilingual Education Conference 2019 organized by UNESCO, British and other INGOs held on September 24-26, 2019 at the Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok Thailand.

The Conference aims to explore how an open and inclusive multilingual approach, especially in the context of education and wider society, to create linkages between policy, practice and research on how multilingual approaches can be used to advance (civic) participation, access, and learning for children and adults from marginalized and mobile communities.

In three day workshop, MEC participated in the Panel Discussion that highlighted to experiences from Ethnic Basic Education Providers in Myanmar and 4 Panelists: one from MNEC, two from SJN and KEF (representing KEC), and one from KED shared MTB-MLE experiences and challenges in Myanmar and learned about global challenges, opportunities, solutions and networking in MTB-MLE.

During the panel discussion, MEC partners had explained how an open and inclusive multilingual approach, especially in the context of education and wider society, could maximize outcomes and well-being for ethnic communities and for an increasingly mobile population.

Panelists also described how language policies and practices support access to justice, health and information, and civic participation. They also discussed about the challenges facing ethnic education systems in Myanmar and the successes experienced by EBEPs to date. The panel concluded with a discussion of changes to language policies and practices that EBEPs feel are required to promote social cohesion and recognition of their systems.

As a result, MEC and partners had benefited from networking with education leaders from Asian countries and respective education services providers in Asia region, which brought the opportunities to MEC Partners knowledge and broaden view on MTB-MLE programs.

MoE also observed MEC Panel session and listened to Kachin, Karen and Mon ethnic education leaders share their visions about MTB-MLE. Both MoE and EBEPs have the opportunity to observe examples from other countries (e.g., Cambodia) strongly supporting MTB-MLE.

The top policy leaders (from various countries) met together and came up with the Bangkok Statement for Language and Inclusion. It highlighted the need to foreground language concerns in education, investment for quality MLE, forging partnerships and language-specific data gathering.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

September, 2019, Nay Pyi Taw: In the context of important reforms being implemented in Myanmar’s education sector, Monastic and ethnic basic education providers are excluded due to a number of reasons. Recently, the Ministry of Education (MoE), with the technical and financial support from UNICEF has committed to developing for CPD Framework to guide the development of a comprehensive, equity focused CPD programme for all teachers in Myanmar.

MEC and its partners received an official invitation from UNICEF and MoE to participate in this process, once in the National Policy Seminar on 2 Aug in Yangon and recently in the validation workshop on 30 Sep 2019. Relevant representatives from MEDG, MNEC and KTWG/KED together with MEC leadership turned up and discussed about the means of cooperation and coloration for future implications for teachers from monastic and ethnic basic education providers. It sounds encouraging seeing that the scope of CPD framework would include teachers working in monastic schools and ethnic schools.

They key Points were discussed and presented to the Technical working group.

1) How will the Ministry of Education take the leadership to make comprehensive consultations with Monastic and ethnic basic education providers (who are not currently recognized by MoE) for joint costed plan?

2) How will the Ministry of Education conduct Needs Assessment Exercise and Comprehensive Gaps Analysis in monastic and ethnic schools while there are also monastic and ethnic education CPD programs? – MNEC has PRESET and INSET teacher training and Boh Htaw Education Empowerment Program, for KTWG/KED there are two years PRESET and INSET teacher training programs and for MEDG 1 year education program and accredited Yaung Zin module? Are these monastic and ethnic current
CPD programs also going to be assessed and analyzed?

3) How monastic and ethic teachers can be recognized and accredited?

Basically, the discussions points and feedback from different groups will be well-taken and considered by the Technical working group and revised accordingly. Then, it will be presented to MoE for further process. The process will be completed before end of 2019 and roll out beyond 2020. it’s still vague in terms of way forward. However, we can still be positive because this initiative could be just the new dawn of MEPP soon and in near future to have more cooperation and collaboration of MoE with monastic and ethnic basic education providers to some degrees and later to be more inclusive in the national education reforms.

Myanmar Education Consortium (MEC) and representatives from ethnic partners’ BBCD staffs participated in a 6 week long MTB-MLE course in Chiang Mai, Thailand from July 24 to Aug 2, 2019.

The course was organized in partnership with SIL & Payap University and Language Institute. Two workshops were done consecutively starting with the MTB-MLE workshop followed by the Integrating cultural arts into education workshop. The main purpose of this course was to build participants’ capacity on MTB-MLE and learn how to develop different learning materials for better learning outcomes.

The participants were equipped with the knowledge, skills and value on the theory of MTB-MLE and practical session were conducted for material development. During the course, each of the language group produced language progression plan, big books, busy pictures, listening stories, songs and other skills to develop different materials for teaching and learning which are essential for the MTB-MLE program. The language groups would go back to their own organization and share their knowledge and skills with other staff. The newly developed materials would be tested in the communities to check whether they are appropriate for the children.

MEC supported the ethnic partners’ staffs to attend the course and expects them to carry forward their learning to the field. Moreover, when the staffs are back in their organization, MEC will follow up their activities by conducting field visits during book testing.

(Along with continuing support to four key complementary providers, and following a comprehensive research and design phase, MEC established five new partnerships for the delivery of capacity development in Mother Tongue Based – Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE).  Through the initiative, which works with a broader base of mother tongue education providers, MEC has continued to contribute to the progression of multi-lingual education practices, capacity and policy in Myanmar.)

 

The Strategic Facilitation Fund (SFF) 2017 Application Period is now OPEN! Please read our guidelines before preparing your application.

1) Application Guidelines, MEC SFF Application Guidelines – October 2017
2) Proposal Format, MEC Proposal Format – SFF- October 2017
3) Budget Format, MEC SFF Budget Format October 2017

The Strategic Facilitation Fund (SFF) is designed as a flexible fund to support a broad base of stakeholders in non-government education systems to access technical assistance and engage in evidence based policy dialogue, to trial innovative approaches and to explore opportunities for sustainable programs, in alignment with MEC priority areas. Funding is designed to support specific activities, not long-term education programs.

MEC strategy 2016-2020, and this funding opportunity, will focus on support to complementary (ethnic and monastic) basic education systems. Three areas are prioritized and applicants are requested to specify which area they intend to apply to between: 1. Policy engagement for Education Reform, 2.Ethnic Education networking and collaboration, and 3.Education driven Innovation.

The deadline for application is on 31 December 2017.