Structural analysis of Dropouts and Repeaters in basic education schools in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar

• Published in: International Journal of Human Culture Studies Vol. 2020; no. 30; pp. 40 - 59
• Main Author: Muta, Hiromitsu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Human Culture Studies, Otsuma Women's University 01.01.2020
• Subjects: Advancement rate; Disparity between urban and rural; Dropout rate; Repetition rate
• ISSN: 2187-1930; 2187-1930
• DOI: 10.9748/hcs.2020.40

This paper analyzes the enrollment status of basic education schools in Myanmar as a whole, including national basic education schools under the Department of Basic Education, Ministry of Education, monastic schools and private schools using the most recent educational statistics.　Looking at the enrollment status of the national basic education schools regarding the advancement rate, the repetition rate, and the dropout rate, there was a clear improvement in enrollment in all grades, except in the high school courses under the current administration since AY 2016, not only compared to the military administration, but also compared to the previous administration since AY 2011. Especially in KG, the conventional high dropout rate has become almost 0%, partly because it is no longer compulsory.　Dropout students may be divided, depending on the timing. More than half of the dropouts occurred at the end of the academic year at Grade 4 and above. Until Grade 3 and below, there used be a certain number of students who repeated the same grade, and there was a strong tendency for those students to drop out from school. However, the number of students who repeated the same grade decreased, particularly in the lower grades of primary school courses, and the number of students who advanced to the next grade increased. However, the percentage of students who dropped out of school by the end of the next academic year after they advanced to the next grade has increased.　The repetition rates of monastic schools and private schools were extremely low in all grades. From the viewpoint of the dropout rate, especially in private schools, the calculated dropout rate showed a large negative value for all grades. This indicated that the inflow from outside of the private school system was large in each grade. The main source of the inflow was the outflow from the national basic education schools, which has been classified as dropout in the educational statistics thus far. In particular, many students transferred from national basic education schools to private schools when they went to middle school courses and high school courses. In addition, many transfers from Grade 10 to Grade 11 were also observed in monastic schools. Moreover, these large inflow schools were overwhelmingly located in the urban area. Having a dormitory also helped the transfer. High school courses in some monastic schools and many private schools have actually become college preparatory schools and have been advanced, particularly in Grade 11.