Lawmaker Asks Govt to Let Minority Language Teachers Don Traditional Dress
Lawmaker Asks Govt to Let Minority Language Teachers Don Traditional Dress
The Irrawaddy,, 14 Sep 2018
URL: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/lawmaker-asks-govt-let-minority-language-teachers-don-traditional-dress.html
Mon State — an ethnic Karen lawmaker is asking the Education Ministry to let ethnic language teachers in government schools wear their traditional dress.
Nang Moe Moe Htwe, who represents Karen State’s Hlaingbwe Township in the Upper House of the national Parliament, sent a letter to Education Minister U Myo Thein Gyi on Thursday on behalf of some of the ethnic Karen teachers in her constituency.
She said the intent was to encourage Karen youth to appreciate and know how to wear their traditional garb.
In her letter, she asks the Education Ministry to let all ethnic Karen teachers in Karen State wear traditional dress.
“It was not only ethnic Karen teachers from my township who wanted to wear their traditional dress. Other ethnic Karen teachers in Karen State also wanted to wear their traditional dress for sure,” the letter says.
Nai Rot Ga Kao, program coordinator for research and advocacy from the Mon National Education Department, said Mon language teachers in Mon State started wearing traditional dress when the democratic reforms began but had to stop last year, when the government introduced a minority language teaching curriculum, made the teachers civil servants and required them to adhere to the standard uniform.
“The government should even allow ethnic [minority] students to wear their traditional dress as in Thailand, where students are allowed to wear their own traditional ethnic dress one day a week,” he said.
Nang Moe Moe Htwe, who represents Karen State’s Hlaingbwe Township in the Upper House of the national Parliament, sent a letter to Education Minister U Myo Thein Gyi on Thursday on behalf of some of the ethnic Karen teachers in her constituency.
She said the intent was to encourage Karen youth to appreciate and know how to wear their traditional garb.
In her letter, she asks the Education Ministry to let all ethnic Karen teachers in Karen State wear traditional dress.
“It was not only ethnic Karen teachers from my township who wanted to wear their traditional dress. Other ethnic Karen teachers in Karen State also wanted to wear their traditional dress for sure,” the letter says.
Nai Rot Ga Kao, program coordinator for research and advocacy from the Mon National Education Department, said Mon language teachers in Mon State started wearing traditional dress when the democratic reforms began but had to stop last year, when the government introduced a minority language teaching curriculum, made the teachers civil servants and required them to adhere to the standard uniform.
“The government should even allow ethnic [minority] students to wear their traditional dress as in Thailand, where students are allowed to wear their own traditional ethnic dress one day a week,” he said.