New curriculum for high schools next year

18.11.07: Burmese junta announced that starting from next academic year (2008/2009) state high schools will have to use a new curriculum.

In Burma government’s schools are the sole provider of the high school education, and all state high schools nationwide have to use a uniform government prescribed curriculum. And Burmese military government  prescribed curriculum is very notorious for inaccuracies and bias. The worst are the history text book which try to teach young students that the military is the saviour of the country, liberating the country from colonialism, saving it from disintegration and protecting it from the threat of neo-colonialism, etc, etc; implying that the country cannot survive without the control by the military.

And Burmese military government’s education ministry frequently changes high school curriculum_ whenever a new education minister is appointed or a new advisor is appointed to the minister…_ leading to too much unpredictability and hardship for teachers and students, and ultimately lead to chaotic decline in education standards.

…

New visa scheme for foreign tourists

18.11.07: The bloody crackdown by the military regime on peaceful monks-led nationwide massive pro-democracy demonstrations in Burma in September 2007, led to serious decline in tourist numbers in Burma. Even the junta mouthpiece newspapers which tends to project highly exaggerated tourist figures are now confessing that tourism industry has been very badly effected by the September demonstrations. Burmese journals described that many tourism businesses had to re-adjust their businesses to adapt to the dramatic decline in tourist numbers coming to Burma. Many tour companies have to modify their business to target internal travel and pilgrimage for domestic customers.

Now, to try to help revive the declining tourism industry in Burma, the junta has announced a new visa scheme for tourists in which visa applications will be processed within 24 hours, and tourist visas will be issued for a straight 28 days.