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Cardinal Bo wants return of nationalized church-run schools

Appeals to Myanmar government to let church revitalize the country’s long neglected education system
Cardinal Bo wants return of nationalized church-run schools

Cardinal Charles Maung Bo talks during an interview at his office in Yangon on Jan. 6, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

Published: November 09, 2016 10:01 AM GMT
Updated: November 09, 2016 10:27 AM GMT

Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon says he will appeal to the Myanmar government to give nationalized Catholic schools back to the church in order to revitalize the country’s long neglected education system.

Myanmar was the best-educated nation in Southeast Asia in the 1950s thanks to quality education provided by Christian schools. But most of the mission schools were nationalized in 1965 after General Ne Win seized power.

"The church is ready to contribute once again," said the 68-year-old Salesian cardinal.

"We are going to officially make a request to the government to return our schools despite the fact the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government hasn’t spoken on the subject so far," Cardinal Bo told ucanews.com, adding that church personnel would also try to "animate lawmakers" to raise the issue in parliament.

His appeal comes at a time when Myanmar is emerging from decades of dictatorship as Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party won the 2015 elections and took office in April. Critics have long blamed the former military dictatorship for ignoring Myanmar’s school system for decades. 

Cardinal Bo also affirmed his intentions for helping with the education sector at a celebration for the 500th anniversary of Catholicism in Myanmar held at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Yangon in November 2014.

He said church-run schools need to become "functional once again" and that the government "return all the mission schools" which were taken at gunpoint.

Cardinal Bo again spoke on the subject during a visit to Stonyhurst College, a Jesuit school in the United Kingdom, which he visited in May.

"Education is vital for any country," he said. "It is particularly vital for my country of Myanmar as we begin our journey into a more democratic system, a more open society, and as we confront the difficult challenges of nation-building, peace-making, celebrating diversity and tackling poverty. 

Shila Nan Taung, a Baptist and upper house lawmaker for the NLD, also supported Myanmar’s Christian education renaissance.

"We would be pleased if the government returned nationalized schools because we need to upgrade the system of education," Nan Taung, an ethnic Kachin and a retired professor, told ucanews.com.

She praised the role of church-run schools and said that she received her all-round education from a school nuns ran.

"I become a tutor and professor with an English major thanks to the benefit of the church-run school," she said.

Decades of military rule destroyed the education system of Myanmar because the regime refused to budget enough money for it.

State spending on education increased from 0.7 percent of the GDP in during 2011-12 to 2.1 percent in 2013-14. However, this remains below the 3.6 percent average spent by the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

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