11 February
About 890,000 students will take the matriculation examination this academic year, said Union Minister for Education Dr. Myo Thein Gyi at a meeting with faculty members and staff of Yangon Technological University yesterday.
“In 2016, 650,000 candidates sat for the matriculation examination and over 100,000 passed it; in 2017, the number of candidates was 730,000 and the number of students who passed the exam was over 200,000; in 2018, the number of candidates was 830,000 and the number of students who passed the exam was over 250,000,” the Minister said.
“According to the census, the population of five-year-olds is round about one million, and the number of children who have completed primary school is about 980,000,” he said.
The Union Minister said: “The number of students at arts and science universities is 250,000, and the number of students pursuing arts or science studies through distance education is 530,000.”
“The number of students at technological universities and computer science universities is 71,890; and the number of students enrolled at education colleges and education universities is 17,406,” he said. Among the university graduates, 80 percent are female and only 20 percent are male, he said, and pointed out the importance of gender parity.
He stressed the importance of producing graduates in accordance with local needs, and urged faculty members to launch websites highlighting the salient points about their institutions in English.
The Union Minister also dealt with matters relating to high-tech learning for improving competitiveness of graduates, research programs, advanced curriculum, project-based learning, hi-touch learning, real world applications, and world ranking and ASEAN ranking of the institutions of higher learning in Myanmar.
Deputy Minister U Win Maw Tun also took part in the discussions. Rector of Yangon Technological University Dr. Myint Thein spoke about the YTU, and the Chair of Rectors Committee, Dr. Zaw Wai Soe, spoke about university autonomy. Faculties and staff then joined in the discussions.
The Union Minister and team also visited the Yangon Foreign Language University and Yangon Education University.—MNA
