Burma is in the midst of an educational tragedy. The educational sector has suffered tremendously under years of military rule. The major obstacles to the civilian children inside Burma, is the lack of opportunities and the quality of education. The SPDC spends only US$1 per person per year on health and education combined (John Hopkins School of Health, 2006). The following table gives a brief synopsis of the education system in Burma.

Primary Education	Secondary Education (middle and high school)	Tertiary Education
Low number of schools in most areas Classes overcrowded Poorly equipped schools Low maintenance at schools Frequent school closures Rising formal and informal school fees Shortage of teachers Teachers not trained Low teacher’s salaries Not enough teachers High student dropout rate, estimated at 50% (UNICEF) Private tuition fees are high Rife corruption throughout the education hierarchy	Low middle and high school enrolments Shortage of schools Shortage of teachers Teachers not trained Shortage of resources such as textbooks, libraries and laboratories Examination pass rates of students are low Costs for families are high Disruption in attendance as frequent conflicts, mines and forced labor in ethnic areas forces families to flee Frequent school closures Forced military training of students in some areas above 7th standard High student dropout rate, estimated at 50% (UNICEF) Private tuition fees are high Rife corruption throughout the education hierarchy	Estimated 4% enrolment Shortage of resources such as textbooks, libraries and laboratories Teachers not trained Frequent university closures to curb student dissent Academic curriculum is out of date All syllabuses for university courses must be approved by the military Courses shortened to push the backlog of students Frequent student arrests due to political activity Restricted academic freedom of university teachers and professors Low standard of education, due to lack of classroom time and poor examination standards University departments moved to suburbs or city outskirts to keep students separate from each other High transportation costs, which keeps students from attending classes Student campus activities frequently restricted

Ethnic minorities fare especially badly in education. Indigenous languages, culture and literature are prohibited in schools, making some ethnic minorities from Burma illiterate in their own language and detached to their history. Most ethnic groups face discrimination by SPDC officials, limiting student’s chances of attaining any level of education.

Three important changes the military regime made to the curricula after independence from the British were: the cultural aspect of the social sciences was deleted which eroded the traditional respect for education and high regard for an able and competent person; Burmese was made the medium of instruction at all levels; and the higher education system was broken into small components, in order to keep order and discipline in each campus.

Therefore thousands of students come out of the system each year, barely educated with poor critical thinking skills and unable to speak English, the medium necessary in order to communicate with the international community. English provides a means to further their cause, while also allowing access to information and educational opportunities not available in their own languages. The Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2006 states: