Exiled
Burmese political activists are to be educated as “nation builders” in
universities in the UK and USA under a scheme launched today at the Institute
of Education.
Four
British education institutes have agreed to guarantee places on courses for
suitably qualified Burmese students in a programme to be run with the
Institute for Community and Institutional Development (ICID)-Burma. The fields
of study will include public health, education, environmental studies and
international law as part of a programme similar to the ANC’s education
initiatives during the anti-apartheid movement.
Burma,
under military dictatorship since 1962, faces an educational crisis, with
nearly all its universities closed and many students in exile. Burma’s
regime spends 220 times more on the military than on health and education
combined.
Under
the programme students must be committed to democratising Burma and prepared
to return to Burma to rebuild the country.
Dr
Zarni, director of the ICID and a Burmese exile, said: “Our purpose is to
throw life vests to a small number of democratically committed Burmese who
will become the leaders of the new generation. Burma’s democratic future
depends on our greatest asset – our people.”
The
four institutions are LSE, SOAS, the Institute of Education and Queen
Elizabeth House, Oxford. LSE has already given a scholarship to the first
student, Zaw Min, who is studying for a master’s degree in development
studies.
Professor
Geoff Whitty, director of the Institute of Education, said: “Now is the time
to develop skills that will be vital for creating a new and democratic Burma.
We are proud to be part of an effort that will educate the future leaders of
Burma.”
Ends
For
more information, contact Dr Zarni on 00336 7580 1849, zarni@icid.net; Laura
Janes, 07855 777 969, laura@icid.net or Helen Green, 020 7612 6459, h.green@ioe.ac.uk
Notes
to editors
More information about the programme can be found at
www.icid.net
